Run your home as if it’s your business…Because it is.
I’ll get right to the point. Running a home is like running a business. Why do you think they came up with the phrase “running a home”? Folks could have come up with another way to reference tending to one’s home matters. But they didn’t. Or at least if they did, it didn’t stick. That’s because running a home is work. Whether we admit it or not, it is a job. It doesn’t always get the credit, awards, title, or recognition that other jobs do. But no matter who you are, you have a home. And your role running the home is the foundation to your success in life in general.
To me, running a home is most certainly like running a business. There’s many moving parts that have to be maintained, coordinated, and planned. Before you think “I’m single I don’t run a home” or “It’s just me and my husband, that’s not really running a home”, think again. That would be like telling a solopreneur or cofounders they don’t have a business.
Your home is your business. Just yours and those that live with you, usually being immediate family. It’s work that’s personal. Running a home has its struggles and victories just like running a business.
Here’s just a few examples of what both running a home and business have in common:
1. Bookkeeping/Bills/Overhead
2. Supplies
3. Taxes
4. Appointments/Meetings
5. Maintenance
6. Groundskeeping
7. Events
8. Future growth/expansion/moving locations
9. Team building excercises/memories
10. Lasting relationships
Now, there’s businesses just like homes that are run poorly, mismanaged, or left to its own devices. Sometimes you can tell what’s happening on the inside/behind the scenes of the business by what you see on the outside. You may see some unrest or tension as the management is changing or gaining back control of the mission of the business. Sometimes that goes along with running the home too. But there’s good news for those of us that think that it’s too late to run our homes like they wanted or that we’ve let things go too far... It just takes a decision to work on it one thing at a time and one day at a time. No more. No less. You just do the best you can with what you have, what you know/believe, and where you are.
It takes work and skill to run a business just like it takes work and skill to run a home. So remember it’s going to take time.
A here’s a bonus thought: Most businesses have a “Why” and a mission statement. Homes can have a “Why” and a mission statement too. Even if you don’t share it with anyone else. You know what it is. And it can be your north star when times get tough.
Now tell me, have you ever thought of running a home being like running a business? Let me know in the comments.