Jo-El Shea is a health and wellness counselor. We met online some time ago and this is the interview that resulted. She offers some sound advice for home business owners who have difficulty balancing it all. Enjoy!

I understand that you offer personal counseling both in person and via phone sessions. How do the two differ?

I offer both in person and phone sessions for clients because everyone has different needs. Some clients benefit from the intimate one on one session, while other clients like the efficiency of just picking up a phone and having a session.

In my practice I focus on each client as an individual. I tailor each program to fit client needs, schedule, and budget. Both methods are equally as fulfilling and effective, it just depends on what the client is looking for. With clients that I deal with remotely I send all materials via email or in packages.

The only difference I have found is that with one-on-one sessions it is a bit easier to establish a rapport right from the beginning. With phone sessions, I often end up talking to my clients about 30-40 minutes longer to help solidify the relationship and establish a solid rapport.

Many home based business owners have a difficult time with guilt-learning to balance work and family is much harder when work can't be left at the office. What tips can you offer these business owners when it comes to finding a balance?

I recommend setting a schedule that is flexible. When working from your home, things inevitably come up that draw you away from your work. You have to be flexible and learn to drop your work or take yourself out of a fun activity to get back to work. Applying unnecessary pressure to stay on schedule isn't always effective. It often causes more stress, than if you adapted to the conflict.

Being flexible allows you to remain balanced and helps to keep things in perspective. When trying to find balance between work and family I'm a firm believer in "life in moderation." Whether it's work vs. family, a pint of ice cream vs. a cup of ice cream, running a 100 mile race vs. a 10K race, I think of life in moderation works. A little of everything never hurt anyone!

Another area home based business owners suffer with is learning to follow through with goals they've set for their business, their family, and themselves. What advice can you offer to help them succeed with their goals?

I have found that the key to setting and achieving your goals is to be realistic, flexible and specific. You need to be realistic in terms of what you can and can not achieve in a designated amount of time. For example, I can not type up 10 client notes in one day, but I can do 5.

Next, you need to be flexible with your time. There are days I start out working at 6 am and other days I'm on diaper duty at 5:45 am and miss my 6 am work time. Being flexible allows you the freedom to adapt to any situation that comes up.

Finally, you need specific goals broken down into both short term and long term goals. Writing down what you want to achieve helps you figure out specific goals for the day and keeps you on track to achieve your long term goals.

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