📖 Read Time: 4 minutes
📩 What you’ll get out of this newsletter: a raw, real take on balancing babies and business.
Heyyyy y’alllll, Brian here 👋
I was hanging out with the one and only Alex Friedman this week (IRL!!) and found myself talking a lot about what it means to build our business and my family at the same time.
I had my first kid later in life—38 years old—and until then my ‘baby’ had always been whatever I was working on.
My priorities shifted instantly when my son was born. Suddenly, it was more about how could I share as many moments with him and my life partner, Cassidy, as possible, while still scratching my entrepreneurial itch (that’s why my co-founder relationship with Alex works so well because we know who we are and why we’re building!)
I’ve seen toxic undercurrent in entrepreneurship culture, especially amongst other dudes, that still romanticizes sacrificing everything at the altar of work—including your family (like Hormozi’s tweet above lol). If the cost of your dream is causing you to miss out on time with the very people you’re dreaming for, then what’s the point? Why did you even have a family??
This week I’m talking about my approach to this stuff & what works for me! Hopefully it resonates — enjoy!!
Genius Hotline: Brian Schopfel, how a genius raises a family and builds a business.
1. If you can’t prioritize your kid over your work, don’t have kids.
This one hits like a punch — because it should. Kids aren’t a side quest. If your startup is more important than their first words, you're out of alignment. That’s not hustle. That’s neglect.
2. Pick your co-founder (life partner) wisely.
Not everyone is cut out to partner with someone building a business and a family. If your partner doesn’t understand your vision, or worse, resents it, you're setting up long-term tension. Your relationship is infrastructure (s/o Cassidy!). Don’t skimp.
3. Keep it simple.
Trying to scale a business while raising tiny humans means you don’t have room for chaos. Set one clear goal at a time. Don’t chase complexity. It’ll ruin both ventures.
5. Nature resets everything.
Business friction? Relationship stress? Kid meltdowns? Step outside. Walk barefoot. Touch a tree. It won’t solve your problems, but it recalibrates your nervous system. And theirs.
5. Stop taking yourself so seriously.
Goof off. Dance to bad music. Let them draw on your face. If you show up to parenting like a board meeting, you’ll miss the magic. Business will always be there. Childhood won’t.
🧠 Genius Tips
Calendar your kid time like you would investor calls. Protect it. Don’t flake on it.
Reduce context switching: If you’re parenting, parent. If you’re working, work. Avoid the in-between limbo zone.
Design your biz around your life, not the other way around. Your business should serve your values.
Say no more. Every yes to work is a no to something else. Be brutal.
Redefine success. For a season, “we got through the day” is winning.
🚀 Genius Takeaways
Parenting isn’t a distraction from your legacy. It is your legacy.
You can’t outsource presence.
Kids don’t need your success. They need you.
Don’t aim for balance. Aim for rhythm.
As much as I make it sound like prioritizing time between my work and my family is easy — IT’S NOT. I still struggle with it weekly, sometimes daily.
I’d love to hear from any other parents who are currently going through the same thing, feel free to hit me up to share your experience or just say hi!
Doing the damn thing,
— Brian (@brianmschopfel)
P.S. Alex and I are opening up a couple spaces for new consulting / advisory clients—we’re psyched!
If you are in the 0-1 phase of building your business and looking for help with:
social / content strategy
founder brand building
getting your first clients or customers
investor relationships / fundraising
Let’s have a 15-minute chat (schedule here) to see if we are a good fit!
