Founders often say that running a business generally is a 24-hour experience. Recently, a lot of us are denouncing hustle culture for a balance of our own; as women who wear multiple hats, how we spend each moment of the day matters.

For Black women, time is precious, but often we forget that the time we spend outside of constructing our empires is just as necessary. On this ESSENCE.com series, we’ll get the news on how a few of your favorite entrepreneurs and executives are spending day off the clock to refuel, recenter and remember their north stars.

Meet Courtney Caldwell, Co-Founder and CMO of ShearShare, Buffalo, NY, 43

Courtney Caldwell has a protracted line of entrepreneurs in her family, dating back to the founding father of the gas mask and the stop light, Garrett Morgan. It’s no surprise that she tapped into that legacy to turn out to be the co-founder of ShearShare along with her husband, Dr. Tye Caldwell. Together they created a mobile platform for salon owners that helps salon and barbershop owners rent out empty chairs and double their revenue using their experiences in consulting, barbering and cosmetology.

Named the “HairBnB” by users, ShearShare accommodates the most important database of on-demand salon, spa and barbershop workplace rentals in over 900 cities using its app. “It’s so necessary that that is our legacy that we get to go away, and that’s helping to maintain our small businesses open,” Caldwell said. Although her days don’t look the identical, Caldwell is chargeable for leading and growing ShearShare in marketing and PR, operations, HR, accounting and finance and legal. When she’s not running her company, she finds ways to not rush the technique of starting her day and appreciate the moments to refuel. Learn more about how she spends day off the clock. 

Intentionally starts the day slow.

The very first thing that involves Caldwell’s mind when she opens her eyes each morning is to decelerate. “My mind is one among those where I can go from zero to 100 really, really quickly. I try to start out my day intentionally being very slow,” she said. To start out her day without work slow and keep her mind on chill, she lights candles in her home for aromatherapy to assist set the mood and tone. “I literally have a line item in my budget for candles that I buy each month for the home,” Caldwell shared. She is an avid supporter of Black women-owned candle firms and is currently burning Zipora Scents in her home.

Then she begins her meditation for the day. Once she has found her zen, her husband joins her to hope, after which she journals before starting her day. If she doesn’t have time to journal, Caldwell devotes just a few minutes to gratitude. 

Every morning for the last 12 years, she has been making the Caldwell Concoction for her family. The drink consists of hot water, turmeric, ginger, honey, cinnamon and a touch of lemon or lime and is remodeled the stove. “That helps fan the flames of my digestive tract and get me getting in the morning,” she explained.

Unstructured time is her me-time.

With nearly all of her day being managed by a calendar or diary, Caldwell enjoys the pleasure of getting unplanned time for herself. “I run on a really regiment routine, so most days for me, me-time may be anything, however it just needs to be unstructured,” she explained. Caldwell is a lady who enjoys the good outdoors and sometimes spends time running or mountain climbing. She loves the sun on her face and the wind in her hair. One other pastime of Caldwell’s is trying latest plant-based recipes to cook for her family and learning more about plant-based medicines. 

Traveling helps fuel her joy of culture.

“Every month, we’re taking time for ourselves again, unstructured, because that’s where I come back with an immense clarity of thought,” she explained. With travel, Caldwell can get away from the noise that comes with leading an organization. 

“I similar to to be in places where there are multiple different elements and different folks that come together, so travel is a giant one for me. I cannot sit in the identical place for too long,” she said. Tokyo is her favorite place to travel since it is superb for trendspotting in the sweetness industry. “There’s quite a lot of stuff that Tokyo creates or has available to its residents before it even hits the states. I might even see something this 12 months that I’ll not see hit America for a few years,” Caldwell shared. In Tokyo, she will see the longer term of beauty and fashion that keeps her on her toes. While she is taking within the trends, Caldwell also enjoys the restaurant scene in Tokyo.

One other place that she visits is Jackson Hole, Wyoming. With every visit, she should have her green smoothies and hike Snow King Mountain, utilized by the US Olympic team to coach. Caldwell shared that it’s like experiencing 4 different weather patterns each time she walks the mountain. Her climb starts warm, then it gets cool, after that it rains and snow flurries begin. “Going through all of those different seasons is just exactly what life is, right? Especially, running a tech company, you’re going to experience the highs and lows, but you might have to get through those blistering moments to see greatness on the opposite side,” she explained.

Coaching has helped her manage.

 Caldwell believes everyone must have a life coach who breathes energy and renewal into us. “One coach in my life told me that so long as you might be doing five things, you shall be positive. Your organization goes to be positive because your organization is simply as healthy as you might be,” she said. She learned five things from that life coach: to eat, drink, sleep, move and socialize well. “If I can do those five things well daily, it’s those little small disciplines that basically add as much as the health of yourself, your mental wellbeing and the health of your organization,” Caldwell explained.

Why is being off the clock necessary?

What’s necessary for Caldwell when she is off the clock is how she will pour into the things that matter to her, and to do this, she has to reset her energy. “Jogs my memory how best I can fuel myself, how best I can fuel my family and the way best I can fuel my legacy,” she said. In those times when she is just not working, it helps her realize how she may be at her highest self and understand the best way to use her time best.