When you are starting a family-owned winery, there are a lot of things to balance. Between the quality, style, and production of the wine, there’s less time for leisure and–all too often–spending as much time with your family as you’d like. Luckily, many in your family can get involved with your budding wine business. If you are starting a winery or vineyard and want to keep your family unit strong, below are some ways to balance your passion and personal life.
Put Yourself First
While it can seem counter-intuitive—especially if you are the head of the family—it is completely necessary to put yourself first. Self-care is important to prosperity for everyone in your life. You cannot take care of someone else if you aren’t taking care of yourself. Your wine business might be a lucrative way to make money, but more likely it is your dream and passion. Winemaking is an art, craft, and, for many, a calling. To balance work and family, you need to be happy with what you’re doing.
Grow the Business
Of course, every wine business wants to grow, make better wines, and pull in more money for their families. When it comes to a business like wine, you are better able to blend family and your passion. You can expand your business while hiring your family and spending time with the people you love to create something truly special together. If you’re passionate about wine, making it, and creating an atmosphere to enjoy your product and production, it’s possible to cultivate synergy between your family and business.
Get Your Kids Involved…
Just because you are in the business of making alcohol doesn’t mean your kids or children of your family can’t be around the business and involved in the fabric of the culture. There are plenty of wineries and vineyards that create space for children and help parents both work and enjoy the venue. You can also teach kids about responsible drinking. Wine is so much more than an escape from reality. It is a delicacy, and you can teach the children in your family that it is to be respected and drunk responsibly.
…And the Grandparents
An aging loved one is another part of family life not to be overlooked. If your loved ones are part of the business, all the better, but this part of your family life can be especially difficult if your parent or grandparent doesn’t live near you. And sadly, sometimes you are forced to deal with difficulties in this respect. Let’s say you’re pouring your heart and soul into a winery on the West Coast and have a family member with Alzheimer’s or another degenerative disease back on the East Coast. You could potentially find a good senior living or dementia homecare option rather than relocating the loved one, and take frequent trips to visit.
Create a Family-Friendly & Welcoming Environment
So much of running a budding family wine business is creating an ideal environment that is welcoming. Wine isn’t like drinking at bars or downing many beers. It has a different effect on people and can be quite expensive and elegant. This is where your business lends itself to family and keeping those bonds alive through your business. However, if you have family members who don’t want to be a part of your winery, you should also make time to get away.
Make Sure to Get Away
Ideally you live in your winery. You love working and simply being there, but you should always make time to get away. Changing your environment even for a little while will have a massive impact on your mindset and productivity. It’s tough—you have designed your winery to be the culmination of your dreams and yet you need to get away occasionally.
It isn’t easy to balance family and business. You can create an environment that is welcoming for everyone involved. Clients need to come first, but if the family understands that it’s possible to create a cohesive synergy between it all. You need to make sure certain things are implemented. Keep in mind your well-being and mental clarity while working hard and taking time for family. You will be able to cultivate a great life full of love and passion.