Nicole Dawes is the Co-founder and CEO of Late July Organic Snacks, located in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Late July makes certified organic cookies, crackers, and chips. Nicole and her husband Peter (who is the company’s Co-president and COO) have two children, Stephen and Benji, who are 9 and 5, respectively. Nicole’s father, Stephen Bernard, founded Cape Cod Potato Chips, and co-founded Late July with Nicole.

Nicole Dawes on working with her husband; and on why: kids should be raised at the office, anxiety is an indulgent emotion, and work/life balance is a sham. 

Q:  Your life is a crazy Venn diagram of overlapping work and life spheres:  Your father was an entrepreneur, you work with your husband, and you are raising two children.  Which aspect of this overlap is toughest to manage?

A:  Leaving the kids just doesn’t get easier.  I’ve been traveling a lot.  It’s heartbreaking every time.  I keep waiting for that to end.  Skype helps.

Q:  When do you feel most stretched?

A:  When we have more than one problem—which is very often. From the outside, we look like a well-oiled machine of magic work-life balance.  We can handle one setback pretty well.  But if someone gets sick, and a new product launch gets pushed up or pushed back, and I suddenly find I have to leave town on business—that’s when we run into difficulty.  Oddly, though, when Peter and I are in those situations, we’re not that tense.  We just do it.  We triage.  Tension and anxiety are indulgent emotions.  We can’t afford them.  We get externally focused on how to solve our problems.  We don’t stop and wonder, How is this affecting us?

Q:  What’s it like working with your husband?

A:  A lot of people are scared to work with their spouse.  They hear the horror stories.  But for us, sharing in the whole experience together is what makes it work.   Continue reading →