Balancing Work, Community, and the Spirit of Christmas: An Entrepreneur's Guide to the Holiday Season Entrepreneurial reflections on holiday traditions, the importance of giving back, and how taking time off can benefit both personal and professional growth.

As the festive season approaches, many entrepreneurs grapple with the pressure of balancing work commitments with family time and personal well-being. In this Entrepreneur UK interview, Nick Hatter, CEO of GoalBounty, a platform that helps individuals achieve goals by committing money, shares his unique approach to business and life during the holidays, from finding "spiritual wealth" in giving back to understanding the importance of taking a step back. With a focus on ethical capitalism and the value of commitment, Hatter offers advice for maintaining balance during the most wonderful - and sometimes stressful - time of the year.

What's a Christmas tradition—personal or professional—that has shaped your entrepreneurial philosophy?
My mum, being a police officer, has worked pretty much every Christmas Day. She's taught me a strong work ethic, as a woman who has come from poverty, her being a former Romanian asylum seeker. However, I always felt sad she had to go to work on Christmas Day while the rest of us celebrated and ate all the delicious food she prepared. While I do work hard, it's one of my entrepreneurial philosophies that life is not all about making money and you have to know when those important moments matter, whether it's Christmas, a birthday, an anniversary, etc. The sad reality is, we will only get to experience so many Christmases and special events - and many people on their deathbed (especially men) wish they hadn't worked so hard - at least according to palliative nurse, Bronnie Ware.

Another tradition I've had for the past five years is also to celebrate Christmas Day on a sunny beach (typically in Tenerife, Spain) with friends and enjoy some volleyball - in the spirit of remembering to enjoy special days and enjoying life, rather than focusing on solely making numbers go up on a screen or spreadsheet.

For many, the festive season highlights the tension between commerce and community—how does your business navigate this balance?
My business, GoalBounty, generates revenue by getting people to make financial commitments ('bounty') towards their goals and new year resolutions to encourage and motivate them to achieve them. When customers do not succeed, we keep 90% of their bounty, and give 10% away to charities and community causes, such as Samaritans, Cancer Research UK and PTSD Resolution (a veteran's charity). We navigate this balance by making charity part of our core business identity.

Capitalism doesn't have to be evil or money-grubbing. One of my friends and mentors, Simon Stockley, an Associate Professor in Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Cambridge, has talked about this concept of 'conscious capitalism' - this idea that you can make money, but be ethical about it, and consider the effects on the wider community. Conscious capitalism should be something which is practiced 365 days a year, not just at Christmas time. Think about what kind of legacy you want to leave behind as an entrepreneur. And despite charging thousands of pounds for my packages in my private therapeutic coaching practice, I volunteer part-time as a Psychotherapist at the Affordable Counselling Network (where I have also offered free consultancy on their SEO and marketing to their management team as I am highly ranked on Google for "life coach london"). I have also taken on some pro bono and low fee clients to those who really need personal support. I also run a free WhatsApp peer support group for trauma survivors and sufferers of complex post-traumatic stress disorder. I am able to afford to do these things because my full fee-paying clients pay the bills. I may not get profit from such things, but it gives me 'spiritual wealth' - a feeling that I'm doing some good in the world, and it feels great. No amount of profit or revenue can get you that.

What is the most important lesson your business has taught you this year?
One of the most important lessons is that money buys commitment. Whenever people invest money into something, whether it's coaching or goals, that's where their attention and commitment goes. I tried to offer free consultations this year for my coaching practice, but the no-show rate was pretty high. People would book them and not show up, which was a waste of precious business time. But as soon as I started charging even a small fee for them, my no-show rate dropped to practically 0%! This is partly what led to the idea of me founding GoalBounty.

If you could give one piece of advice to other entrepreneurs about surviving and thriving through the holiday season, what would it be?
The business and customers will still be there in January! Take at least a few days off - maybe longer and just enjoy the festive celebrations, guilt free. Stay away from your emails, because they'll only suck you back in. Consider signing out and perhaps even temporarily uninstalling the Gmail or Outlook app from your phone (if you think you'll get tempted). Basically, make it difficult to access your email so that it's not one click or tap away - even if it's for just a few days.

Sometimes, as entrepreneurs, we can also spend too long working in the business, that we do not work on the business - such that we become myopic and cannot see the bigger picture. The same can go for our personal lives too. So perhaps also use the quieter time to reflect on your personal and professional life, and to reflect on what you perhaps could have done better in this current year, and to think about what goals you'd like to personally and professionally achieve in 2025.