Work/Life Balance Is Skin Deep — Build Sustainability Through Cultivating Healthy Habits

By: Victoria Kennedy and Lana Ivanov

Standing in front of the mirror, as women get ready for work, we’re warriors bracing for battle. We armor up. We say our affirmations. And we paint our faces. Balancing life and work is no easy task, but how you take care of your skin can be a great metaphor for how you take care of business.

As Lana Ivanov, formulator of Vonavi Pro, says:

If you prioritize your skin health, you’ll have long-term beauty.

This mindset shift applies to your business, too. Prioritize the health of your business and it will sustain you long-term!

But, for entrepreneurs, building a truly sustainable business means walking a fine line. It requires patience, determination, and resiliency. The good news is, if you understand how to maintain your health, business success will follow. Let’s look at why.

[Related: Achieving Workplace Inclusion: Three Steps Toward a Sustainable Organization]

Patience, determination, and resiliency.

Lana hasn’t always been a skin care guru. She faced many challenges, but she believed in her message of work/life balance being more than skin deep. And above all, she never gave up on herself.

Lana emigrated from Russia to America at 18, with her nine-month old baby.

I had nothing except passion and drive.

And as we all know, starting your own company is a long and arduous road — with a lot of trials and tribulations. To pay the bills, Lana became a nurse. This is where she first noticed the correlation between stress, fatigue, and those bags under our eyes.

Work was taking it out of me, but so were the products I was using to cover up my fatigue. I was desperate enough to experiment with making my own lotions in the bathroom after work.

That’s when her busy life in nursing and her passion for skin health came to a crossroads. She left nursing for beauty and now she is an entrepreneur working with Kevin Harrington, the “Inventor of the Infomercial.” But how did Lana maintain sustainability in both her business and health through the ups and downs?

Mindful stress.

First, Lana says, whether you’ve been in business for nine months or nineteen years, you need to be aware of your stress levels at all times.

Stress isn’t the enemy. Living a stress-free life as an entrepreneur is unrealistic and stress comes with being ambitious. But you can be more mindful of your stress.

Work stress can impact our mental and physical health. So Lana tells everyone:

You must treat yourself every now and again for mental restoration. I wouldn’t be where I am today if when I was a nurse I wasn’t getting a monthly facial.

When we’re more aware of our stress levels, we can choose to do something about stress. Figure out what simple stress relievers works for you:

• Meditating for 5-10 minutes when you first sit down at your desk.
• Going for a mindful walk without your phone.
• Shutting down at a certain time each day, no matter where you are on your to-do list.

There are times when you can’t do much about the stress you feel, but it’s important to complete the stress cycle as soon as you get a breather. Let your body and mind come back to equilibrium when the major stress is over.

[Related: Give Grace During the Time of COVID-19]

Nowhere to go but up.

Lana’s advice to anyone starting out on their own path:

Don’t give up. It sounds cheesy, but you cannot give up on yourself before you’ve gotten to where you are going.

This means you need to have faith in the work you are doing. When cultivating your own brand or business, it takes time, focus, persistence, and most importantly dedication.

After Lana bought a spa before she was ready, she was forced to close it and return to nursing. While many business owners would get discouraged and give up, Lana kept her eye on the ball. She worked under a plastic surgeon so she could learn more about how to succeed in the skincare industry.

This thirst for information is what allows us to know we are moving forward. Sometimes it might not feel that way, but Lana will tell you:

Look for the life lesson.

This means seeing “failure” as an opportunity to grow. Maybe you have to refocus your plan, but allow that time to be beneficial for your upward mobility.

Let your inner radiance shine.

Perhaps the biggest lesson for business owners from Lana’s story is how important it is to let your inner radiance guide your business choices.

Your gut is a powerful force in business.

You don’t always know why you’re making the decisions you make, you just feel that it’s right. Lana knew her refocusing efforts were about leveraging her brand, and when she felt ready, she had cultivated the resources to have a springboard to the top.

By cultivating intentional habits, you can achieve phenomenal success. When you take your health into your own hands and allow that to be the bedrock of your life — sustainability in all aspects of your life will come as a result.

[Related: How to Adopt a Growth Mindset and Revolutionize Your Career]

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Victoria Kennedy, CEO of Victorious PR, has helps dozens of entrepreneurs become the #1 Authority in the niche and has been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, Yahoo Finance. Find out more here.

Lana Ivanov, Founder and Formulator of Vonavi Pro, is a skincare expert, formulator, and licensed Master Aesthetician who educates on the importance of skin transformation. She is an innovator that has been featured on Vogue and Shark Tank. Click here to check out her cutting-edge skincare line.