When Nanz and I started talking about starting Nanz Inc.Com we knew, at the back of our minds, that one of our greatest challenges would be to practise what we preach — to create a balance between our work and our lives.

Asian women are notoriously hard-working. Unfortunately, sometimes this means that we put off having kids because we think we’re not going to be able to spend time with them — why should we give birth to children and then hire a maid to look after them? It’s a ponderous issue.

We are both mothers, each with three kids. Hers are aged six and under. My oldest is 10. So we have differing stressors. Hers is finding time to help her oldest daughter with spelling, and as only Nanz can, make her three feel precious and loved.

My challenges include keeping my 10-year-old boy on the straight and narrow. School work and tuition homework, co-curricular activities — those are the easy parts. My biggest beef is keeping tabs on his new bunch of friends who are playing Grand Theft Auto and surfing for questionable YouTube clips and sharing them with my innocent boy! (And let’s not get into my girls here.)

So finding that middle ground of being effective at work and still maintaining control of our parenting duties is something Nanz and I live out each day.

Planning is key. Certain days are designated Nanz Inc days and we arrange for babysitting help while we crank it at work — meet clients, write articles, plan editorial, script videos, email marketing proposals, take photos, shoot videos.

Communication is vital. We can’t reach each other’s minds – so bringing things to a discussion is always good. It’s one of the key lessons Nanz, as my business coach in this collaboration, has taught me. We know each of us has different challenges and schedules when it comes to our kids, and we talk it out and make the timings fit.

Off days are sacred. Friday last week, for example, after working like two mad women from Monday to Thursday, we declared Friday kids’ day. Nanz took her bunch to a resort. I brought my brood to the Zoo with a good friend and her baby. We did not SMS or call each other till Saturday.

Be forgiving. We’ll definitely run into crunch times, and that’s something we both recognise. There will be days when everything just explodes at the same time. Knowing that will happen and being ready to forgive mistakes (and quick to correct mistakes) helps to keep the balance.

We’re both committed to making Nanz Inc work, and we are committed to our families, that although we may spend fewer man-hours with them, what we do spend excel in quality, and are not compromised.

We hope we can be a success in this area of our lives, and then to show the women who come to Nanz Inc, how to get the balance right and really do life better.

Theresa