What I gave up to start my business

• Name: Jennifer Feller, 42
• Company: ReFleece, Somerville, Mass.

My husband and I started ReFleece a little more than year ago. He's a designer, and we met when we worked for Patagonia. We make products out of upcycled fleece. Our first partnership was with Patagonia. They send us their old jackets and pants and we turn them into iPod sleeves and Kindle cases. Our products are in their stores, and we now have some new partners as well.

I had been working as an education consultant. I had a flexible schedule and could work it around my two girls, who are 7 and 10. Now with ReFleece, I'm working more and we're always on. This week, I put a pot of beans on the stove to soak on Sunday, thinking we were going to eat healthy, and by Wednesday it was still there.

We used to eat dinner as a family every night. But with the company that doesn't happen. We have meetings and we rely on our friends to pick up the girls. I used to ride my bike to school with the kids, but I don't have time for that anymore. I had to give up volunteering at their schools.

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I think the big thing is downtime -- there's just isn't any. I hope this is just temporary and I don't intend to do this for the rest of my girls' childhood.

But I do see some benefits. I would never give up the opportunity to work with my husband. It's really been a privilege to do this together. Our marriage is stronger and the girls see that. And I think it's neat for them to see us building something.

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