Xan Hong, CEO and Co-Founder ONTRAC

I don’t have a single mentor. I try to learn from so many people. I take a little bit from the people that I respect the most but who are patient enough to spend the time to teach me what they know.

WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WISH YOU COULD OFFER YOUR FORMER, PRE-PARENT SELF?

Enjoy as much of the experience as possible. The infant stage can seem like so much work, but as my daughter has grown older, I have found myself missing that stage. Make sure to put your devices away so you can give your child your full attention when you are with them.

IS THIS WHAT YOU EXPECTED WHEN YOU DREAMED UP YOUR PROFESSIONAL FUTURE?

I’ve tried and experienced so many things on my list of things to do. I would say that I probably haven’t experienced as much success as I would have liked. My current primary goal is to have a sizeable entrepreneurial exit at which point I would like to transition into becoming an angel investor.

YOU SHARE SO MUCH OF YOUR EXPERTISE AND INSIGHTS VIA CLUBHOUSE. YOU ARE NOT ONLY GENEROUS, YOU ARE ALSO AVAILABLE TO ALL WHO NEED YOU. HOW DID YOU GET HERE? WHAT DOES THIS FEEL LIKE?

I’ve been involved in so many entrepreneurial ventures and in those ventures, I’ve experienced both success and failure through my entrepreneurial journey.

WHAT DID YOU LEARN ABOUT YOURSELF THROUGH THE PANDEMIC? HOW HAVE YOUR HABITS SHIFTED AS A RESULT OF COVID?

I found a new level of productivity in the pandemic. Trying to balance having a kid being home schooled and working from home forced me to become really efficient with my time. That meant scheduling everything, saying “no” to more, and combining activities (ex. Listening to audiobooks on the treadmill).

TO SAY YOU HAVE A BUSY PROFESSIONAL AND HOME LIFE IS PUTTING IT MILDLY. HOW DO YOU MANAGE ALL YOU DO?

I’ve found that it’s important to

Schedule everything. I literally schedule everything I need to do from washing the dishes to taking my daughter to dance practice. I found that if I don’t intentionally allocate time to something, it reduced the likelihood of it actually done.
Create boundaries in my life. For instance, I charge all of my mobile devices in my basement office and intentionally don’t bring them upstairs so that I’m not using those devices while I’m with my family. I have learned to become much more discerning of the opportunities that I take on and to say “no” more often.
Leverage automation and virtual assistants. I’ve learned to really optimize my time by reviewing opportunities to gain efficiencies by using no-code automation tools such as Zapier and Bubble. Anything that I can’t automate, I will look to delegate to a virtual assistant.

YOU WORK LONG HOURS AND OBVIOUSLY POUR YOUR DEDICATION INTO ALL YOU DO. HOW DO YOU KEEP YOURSELF RESTED AND WELL?

There are two things I focus on here: going to sleep at a consistent time and making sure I exercise regularly (again scheduled on my calendar).

YOU HAVE BUILT A BUSINESS WITH YOUR CHILD, CAN YOU TELL US MORE?

Here’s a more detailed blog post about my experience: https://xan-hong.medium.com/how-i-used-the-no-code-platform-bubble-to-make-my-daughters-ice-cream-truck-finder-idea-a-reality-741faed569c1. I think the hardest thing for me is trying to make things organic. I don’t want to create a situation where I force my daughter into something she doesn’t like because I want her to. I want to focus on the lessons so when she finds something she likes, she can combine all the lessons I’ve given her to create something for herself.

IS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE AS A FATHER WORKING? IF NOT, WHAT?

Patience is my biggest challenge. It’s always been one of my biggest weaknesses.

WHAT PRO-TIPS DO YOU HAVE TO SHARE WITH OTHER NEW OR EXPECTANT DADS?

I would need to be a pro to give a pro tip. I think my number one piece of advice is to focus on communication both with your spouse and your child. Parenting places a lot of stress on both parents, so open, transparent communication is so important.

WHO ARE YOUR MENTORS? WHO DO YOU MENTOR?

FILL IN THE BLANKS:

As a working parent, I never expected FINDING BALANCE would be so hard and GETTING OUT OF SHAPE would be so much easier.