Beth Hawthorn jokes over a cup of coffee that when she's driving, in place of a 'Baby on Board' sign in her car window, there should be something that reads, 'Exhausted New Mother Driving with Child in Need of Soother.' "The baby-on-board thing is just irrelevant; it's me that the oncoming traffic should be worried about," she says.

The imbalanced, inherently busy business of being a female entrepreneur, nurturing a marriage, raising children and taking time out to breathe or practice yoga is enough to yield more than just distracted driving. "If you can achieve some semblance of a relationship with your husband, feed your kids and get your work done, you've achieved balance," says Hawthorn, with a hint of sarcasm.

Hawthorn is a co-founder of Core, a Vancouver-based company that promotes wellness and sustainability through fundraising, semi-regular publications, a website, and more. "[Friend and business partner] Leslie [Grant] and I were in Thailand when we came up with the idea, and at first I wasn't sure I could do it," she says, "But she convinced me, and it's been amazing."

At the time, Hawthorn already had a one-year-old toddler and a design business she co-founded with her husband, so it wasn't just a matter of negotiating time and energy to put toward Core - there was her sanity to account for, too.

If relaxation time is interrupted by tasks, chores, or even just guilt over tasks and chores that have been left undone, is it still relaxation time? In a city fraught with independent business ventures and contract workers, people are fixated on this dilemma daily: Is there really such a thing as balance? Does it count as balance if downtime is strategically scheduled to coincide with completing the laundry or reading over some notes? Is it possible to take a break when running your own business? Or does this word 'balance' only exist on energy-bar wrappers and corporate letterhead?

The founders of Core seem to think it's a matter of setting - and keeping - priorities. "You have to make time to relax," says Leslie Grant. She and her husband go hiking in the mountains once a week, and take the month of January off work to travel together, enjoying one another's undivided attention. "We try not to take things too seriously either."

Hawthorn agrees. "I have a friend who once told me, 'Whatever you're worrying about now, in two weeks it's going to be forgotten altogether,' and she's right."

The Core ladies choose, instead, to focus on the essentials - like getting pregnant at the same time! "We thought it would be easier to have babies the same age and have them grow up together," says Grant. "We are essentially building our own support network," she continues, quickly adding that both their husbands are amazing at being flexible, consistent support as well.

"Women's roles have really shifted as a result of the feminist movement, and yet men's roles have virtually stayed the same," says Grant. "We have different expectations of our spouses based on what our parents' roles were."

"When you have a child, you end up reliving your own childhood, remembering how you were raised, and that's often something spouses don't talk about until they are going through it," says Hawthorn. "It's like going through counseling, only a lot more expensive. Plus, now that we are more progressive with our careers, the challenge as a mom has shifted to finding time for you. Women are launching full-blown careers on par with - or, in many cases, surpassing - men's, but are still the primary caregivers at home. Being self-employed makes things even crazier because the work of an entrepreneur is never done."

It's much easier, of course, if you're doing something you love. Milk Factory founders Penny Seto and Tomi Eng stress the importance of making your company fit into your life and your life into your  company. Both women, who now spend their days providing the Lower Mainland with 'survival gear for families' (baby clothes, diaper bags, and so on) left corporate jobs on maternity leave and loved it so much they didn't go back.

"There was a group of us moms who spent our maternity leaves really enjoying our families. Suddenly you realize there is a whole different life going on out here, and it's exciting," says Eng, who met Seto at a parents' group. "When you work for yourself, you are in control, more flexible, and you can make your job your lifestyle, and your lifestyle your job. You can make time to take your baby to the doctor or do yoga in the afternoon, although at times it can be a challenge."

One year into selling baby products, the duo is going strong with the help of "superstar" husbands, each other, and a stupendous networking group. "You find other people who are going through very similar situations and can lend you moral support, or sometimes even practical business ideas and strategies - whatever it is that you need," says Seto.

The biggest thing for Milk Factory has been to persevere and redefine the meaning of success. "It's impossible to measure success sometimes, because when you're trying to balance your work and family life, the meaning of success shifts and changes from day to day," says Seto. It's an interesting challenge, this whole notion of achieving success and balance simultaneously. But then, perhaps balance is not to be achieved; perhaps it's simply a matter of reevaluating, refocusing, and breathing every so often. "You have to look back at the progress you've made, focus on the positive and the accomplishments," says Eng, "and keep focused on your goals."

And she's right. Making balance another chore or task to be achieved is kind of defeating the purpose.