"Can't ignore either" - Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary on balancing business and relationships as an entrepreneur 

Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary often presents his followers with various sorts of advice, and this time, he chose to talk about business and relationships.

In a world where business folks often work more than 18 hours a day and are constantly chasing growth and success, one aspect of their lives that gets overlooked is relationships and personal happiness.

However, Kevin thinks that both need to be balanced equally as they overlap in one's mind and might have an effect on each other if not dealt with properly.

The Shark Tank investor claims that if a person does not invest in their relationship, they will not be happy, which will, in turn, bleed into their business and work and affect their growth and decision-making abilities.

This is a simple observation made by Kevin, which often wraps up the often ignored human emotion of building and running a business, explaining, he says,

"What's the balance between family and business? Cause you can't ignore either of them. So you gotta figure out what's the discipline I'm going to use."

Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary asks entrepreneurs to balance business and relationships

Describing it as "discipline," Kevin O'Leary, the Shark Tank investor, says that it is what is needed to work out both aspects of one's life. He calls for a dedicated family time, which can be decided in advance.

The advice he gives is not necessarily about just time management, but also value management. Businessmen are often seen talking about investing in various sectors, such as ventures or startups, or stocks, but Kevin redirects the conversation to investing in their relationships.

This lesson sure is not taught in any 'Business 101' book, but it is a key aspect of being happy while driving your empire towards growth. To him, the time spent with family is a deliberate investment that yields emotional stability and ultimately a better performance. Explaining his perspective, the Shark Tank investor said,

"You make it weekends. Maybe it is a Saturday. You say I'm going to keep business out of the way on Saturday so I can spend time with my kids or with my relationship, investing in that. And you let your spouse or your significant other know that's the time you're gonna do together.

He added,

It's hard, particularly if you're an entrepreneur. But if you don't invest in your relationships, you won't be happy. And if you're not happy, it's hard to work 18 hours a day. That's the balance."

The key takeaway of Kevin's advice is that business and family are not mutually exclusive, in favt, they both require proper balance. And that balance is not achieved by chance but instead, requires active efforts from the individual.

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Shark Tank season 16 episodes release weekly on ABC at 8 PM Eastern Time on Fridays. They are later available to watch on Hulu.

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