How And Why You Should Treat Your Life Like A Business

1. Budget: Where is the money coming from, and where is it going?

Successful businesses are profitable, that is, they make more money then they spend. This is accomplished by budgeting. The scary B-word. What are your overhead costs? Meaning, how much money do you require to maintain your current life? How much are you spending on transportation, dinning, grocery, gifts, entertainment?

I did not grow up knowing how to balance a budget. As a result I’ve experienced a few financial slaps in the face in trying to use credit cards, manage student loans, and learn how to be an adult. Budgeting was not my strong suit, but I’m understanding now that it is essential to life! We live in a money world my friends. If you don’t know where your money is coming from and where it’s going, you are in trouble.

My husband (the Excel wizard) created a fantastic spreadsheet which we share access to in Google Docs. All we have to do is input the transaction information from our accounts, and voila! It automatically categorizes our expenses and income so that we easily know the most important information:

How much money is coming in and from what sources?
How much money is being spent and what is being purchased?
How much money is being kept and where is it being saved or invested?

Budgeting is incredibly helpful to determine any financial risks you may have, for example, spending too much of your income on luxury or lifestyle products like dinning out, expensive drinks, or that must have new pair of shoes.

If you’re needing help learning how to budget, LearnVest is a great place to start. Tons of great articles and you can link your accounts in their free budgeting program to easily keep track of everything!

2. Identify your assets and risks (aka strengths and weaknesses).

The CEO must know what the company’s assets are, including, investments, employees, space, and skills. These are the company’s strengths. Things that the company can leverage. The CEO also must know what the risks are, including, inefficient processes or increasing costs. These are the companies weaknesses and will need to be addressed in order to ensure success. Your life can be thought of in the same way.

Write down all of the things of value that you own (assets), as well as all of the skills you posses (strengths). Include everything you can think of. For example, my valuable skills list would include:

Native English speaker. Able-bodied. College educated. Friendly.

Next write down all of your risks and weaknesses. Be completely honest with yourself. Successful lives cannot be built on half-truths and white-lies. Plus, no one is going to see these lists, so just do it.

Some of my personal risks are:

Procrastination. Self-doubt. Worry.

Being aware of your assets and risks will help keep you on track. You can always look to the list of assets as a way to remind yourself of all that you have going for you.

3. Determine what “success” means for you and set some goals to get there.

One thing that is becoming abundantly clear to me, is that success looks different to everyone. So rather than fumbling around in the dark for the illusive “success” combination of money, power, and influence you think you should be striving for, answer these questions:

What does success look like to you?
What feelings do you want to have from being successful?
What kinds of things will you be able to do when you are successful?
What would a typical day look like for you in your successful life?

Once you’ve determined what success means to you, it’s time to start figuring out how to get there.

Like businesses, your life has many different areas that need tending to: physical health, emotional health, career, finances, and relationships. Setting goals for each area will help your overall life run more smoothly. For example, if your career is fantastic, but your long hours are hurting your health, your current life practices are not sustainable.

Write down goals for the following five categories. It is helpful to do this activity with your partner, family members, or even friends, because the added accountability will encourage you to stick to them.

Here are some of my goals (you can help me stick to them):

Emotional Goals: Be at peace with my inner self and my physical body. Be loving and kind to myself and others.
Physical Goals: Practice yoga 4 days per week. Ride my bike for any errands in town. Complete the Tough Mudder next year.
Financial Goals: Have a steady stream of income that allows me to be financially solvent. All debts cleared (student loans and credit cards).
Career Goals: Have a career that allows me to live a fulfilled life. Where my time is equally valued by myself and any employer(s) I may have.
Relationship Goals: That my husband and I have a strong, healthy and loving relationship. That relationships with friends and family are nurtured. That those I love, know I love them.

These are long-term goals which are very important. But more important are short term goals. Once you have your goals listed, break them down and figure out how you are going to be able to achieve them.

Remember that list of risks you wrote? The risk list is equally important to the asset list because if you find yourself falling into a risky way of thinking or behavior, then you can gently remind yourself of your risks, and how they are keeping you from your goals.

4. Do some market research, find motivators.

Now that you know what your goals are, start looking for people who have already accomplished what you’re wanting for yourself. Success leaves a trail, all you have to do is follow it. These folks can be really famous, or people you know personally who you admire. My cousin has met a number of health and fitness goals this past year, and she is definitely an inspiration for me. I follow her Instagram to keep me motivated in my own health journey.

5. Get to work.

Now that you’ve laid out a plan to achieve your goals and found some motivators to encourage you, it’s time to start moving! Each day, do at least one thing to push yourself toward your goal. Life does not change overnight, but small incremental changes overtime make a big difference. Some days may be better than others. A friend shared this bit of wisdom with me that I’ve been carrying:

All you need to do, is try to be a little better than you were yesterday.

In other words, don’t freak out, beat yourself up, or think all is lost because of one or even a dozen missed steps. Just pick yourself back up and do one small thing.

BONUS: If something isn’t working, change it.

Successful business are nimble and are able to move and shift with the needs and demands of their consumer markets. You can be the same way! Life is in constant flux both around us and internally. It’s important to remember that nothing is constant and something that worked great today, may not work at all tomorrow. Again, don’t be hard on yourself. Just take another look at everything, figure out what is not working, and change it.

Oh and also, be really kind to yourself.