Unlike the majority of our guests on the podcast so far, for Jason & Pili, business actually came before love. The two met when Pili was managing a phenomenal bar and restaurant in NYC  where she hired Jason after discovering he was not only handy with the remodeling that needed to be done, but he could also “bartend circles around her.” 

At the time they met, both Jason & Pili were both in other relationships, but it marked the beginning of a wonderful friendship and business relationship. Then, after years of working together off and on and pursuing their own lives and artistic passions, the pair finally got together and the rest is history! 

Jason & Pili actually feel that all of their time working together made their transition into co-owning a business much less stressful because they already knew how to do the business side of their relationship first.

From cross-country moves to pivoting careers to starting a thriving business (while also parenting three young kids), this pair had some unbelievably amazing advice. Here’s a taste of how they manage mixing their business with pleasure: 

• 12:26 | You have to keep moving and keep taking action even when you aren’t getting the results you want. You can’t stay stagnant. 
• 14:11 | Take things one step at a time. Don’t be paralyzed by everything you need to do at once. Have a plan and schedule, but also allow for flexibility to get in those critical tasks.
• 17:23 | When faced with conflict with your partner, consider if this issue is really going to matter to you five years from now. If not, move through your feelings, communicate and let it go. 
• 20:02 | You have to be open to the direction you’re going to go next and continue to learn from every experience, but you also have to balance that with focusing on what aligns for you and what you can be truly invested in.
• 23:01 | Growing your business bigger doesn’t necessarily make it scarier. Scaling means you can hire a team to help.
• 34:15 | Know your role and stay in your lane. If you’re parents and co-owners in your business, have an understanding of your roles in your work and your family life—not just when things are normal, but also if an emergency (like COVID) happens. 
• 40:39 | Focus on getting the best result—not on being right or making assumptions.
• 42:15 | Listen to each other and trust each other. Communicate when something is wrong. Don’t hold it in.
• 43:30 | Know you only have the power to change yourself—not your partner or your circumstances. 
• 45:15 | Schedule your time and focus on what’s in front of you. If it’s family time, go all in (no phones or technology). If it’s business time, go all in on that.
• 51:16 | You have to make the most of your time together. Make it special in that moment. If it’s important to you, you’ll make the time to connect.
• 55:40 | Give value to each other and to the world without expecting things in return.

This giving and inspiring couple was such a pleasure to talk to. We know that you’ll love every single minute of this episode and receive so much advice and Aloha from listening in! 

More From Our Couple

• Learn more about Jason & Pili’s business, Yarusi Holdings.
• Learn more about The Jason and Pili Project through their podcast and daily vlog: Second Cup of Coffee.

Reach out!

Jason & Pili

Email: [email protected] & [email protected] | YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/yarusiholdings | Instagram: @jasonyarusi & @piliyarusi

Mixing Business with Pleasure

Email: [email protected] | Instagram: @mbwp_podcast | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MBWPPodcast/ 

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