In early 2025, I decided to start a writing project called Work Life Balance. This was originally housed on Substack, but I’m reposting here for anyone that doesn’t follow there. Enjoy!
I must have changed the name of my substack 20 times in the past week, trying to capture exactly the spirit and value I hope this space brings. “I want to write about entrepreneurship,” I would say. “But also, the most important things in life are faith and family. Yes, all those things – TOGETHER! And where those things intersect.
Perfect.
But it’s also not JUST for entrepreneurs, it’s really for anyone who wants to live intentionally in whatever they are doing. But it may also be some personal family stories and tips. And I love talking business and solving problems, so some of that too.”
And the spiral continued like that for several days…
I came up with some bad names. Consider yourself lucky you aren’t reading the “Entrepreneur and Family Journal” (BORING!), or “Intentionality for Dummies” (shot down by my editor aka wife), or “Anchored and Ambitious” (too alliterate…)
I kind of liked “Intentionality for Dummies” actually…
Work Life Balance feels right. It’s about living intentionally, with ambition, and focusing on the things that matter most. That resonates with me. And if it resonates with you, you’re in the right place.Subscribed
So – that’s it! You’re welcome to stop reading at this point.
However, I was thinking it would be beneficial to write a little bit on my background and expound a little more on what I hope for in this space. So if you’re interested in that, read on.
If not, I’ll see you next week. Or you’ll see me. You know what I mean…
Personal Introduction
Hi! I’m Jeremy Quarles – a follower of Jesus, a husband, father, and entrepreneur.
A quick snapshot of me as (circa February 2025):
34 years old
Married 12 years
Two boys, ages 6 and 3
Originally from Atlanta, GA
Lived in the Nashville area since 2008
Enneagram 9w8
A Little Background…
I will try to keep this brief, but I think it’s important to know where I’m writing from as it relates to faith, family, and work. So bare with me…
I’ll at least spare you all the details up through college. You’re welcome.
After graduating college, I started working in the music industry as a touring professional. I did this for 12 years – first as an audio tech and then as a tour and production manager. It was a really cool job where I made a lot of friends and had some amazing experiences, but it was also very hard on my home life. Coming and going made establishing rhythms very difficult, especially once we added kids into the mix.
My wife also worked in the music industry (corporate) for a while but ultimately decided to go out on her own to follow her passion for interior design. We founded Peach and Pine Interiors in 2017 with the hopes of creating a small business where we could work together, grow her passion, and build flexibility into our family as it grew. P&P is now a full-time job for us both and has become so much more than we could have asked or imagined.
Both of these are much longer stories with many more details. Ask if curious!
I joined the P&P team full-time in 2019 while still working in the music industry. Some of you may remember the year 2020 (you know, the “two weeks to stop the spread” year?). My work in the music industry took a nose-dive as all live events stopped in their tracks. But while that industry experienced a crash and burn, the home industry experienced a BOOM.
Over the next few years, the music industry (thankfully) came back to life. But with a growing family and a growing business, I felt an increasing tension with having my time and attention divided. So in 2024, I *mostly* retired from the road. While I still do a little work in the music industry, I am now primarily an entrepreneur running the family business with my wife.
I’ve never been happier.
Or experienced more fear.
Or known that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Because even more than the difficulties of a crazy travel schedule, being away from my family, and split attention, I left that work because God had long been stirring in my heart that He wanted something different for me. I wasn’t (and am still not) sure exactly what that is, but I needed to clear away some of the noise so I could hear.
Maybe this writing a part of that.
Maybe it’s not.
But that is how I’ve come to be here today. And I’m excited for the road ahead.
Fun fact: I studied Audio Engineering Technology in college (hence the touring), with a minor in Classical Piano (hence nothing). I also, somewhat randomly, have a Master of Theological Studies (or, maybe not so random?).
What I Plan to Write About
This is a journal (of sorts) about the journey I’m on learning to be intentional and live a faith-filled, purposeful life. It’s the intersection of faith, intentionality, family, and work. To quote myself above (hey, that’s fun!):
“It’s about living intentionally, with ambition, and focusing on the things that matter most.”
I often have trouble understanding myself and my passions (Enneagram 9), but I am REALLY passionate about this.
I think it is important.
I think it can change people.
It has changed me.
I have spent a lot of my life being passive. Intentionality has been a muscle I’ve had to exercise and build up. It is a muscle that so many things in our world actively fight to atrophy. But I think exercising and growing it is SO. FREAKING. IMPORTANT.
For me, faith is foundational and intentionality is the vehicle that moves faith into action…
For your family.
For your work.
For your friends.
For your passions.
For yourself.Subscribed
Who I Envision Reading Along
Potential readers may include, but are not limited to:
- mompreneurs and dadpreneurs
- people who work and want to prioritize their family
- couples who run businesses together
- my parents (thanks mom!)
- my REAL friends
- people who want to start a business because of the freedom it can offer
- people who want to stop a business because it’s beating them into the ground
- people who work from home
- people who work away from home
- people who want to create healthy rhythms for their families
Really, this is for anyone who wants to live life intentionally, prioritize their faith and family, and do purposeful work.
That’s what I’m trying to do, and, if you are too, I think you’ll like it here.
Why Write?
At the beginning of the year, my wife and I went away for a few days on a personal retreat where we prayed, dreamed, and schemed about what we wanted 2025 to look like. I have a lot of goals for the year, but 2 that come to mind in particular are:
- figure out a way to help and encourage people to live more intentional lives
- do something without a fully fleshed-out plan or end goal in mind
This is the intersection of those two goals. That’s it.
So if you’re still here, thanks for sticking around. I hope you get a lot of value out of what you find here, and I look forward to connecting with you soon.
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