Last updated on October 8th, 2021 at 02:25 pm
Families Are Their Business
“An entrepreneur is anyone who departs from the conventional formula, path, and rules for being successful. They are individuals who have the self-generated commitment, courage, capability, and confidence to make it on their own.”
-Dan Sullivan
Parents are entrepreneurs. Families are their business.
I came to this realization when I substituted the word “parent” for the word “entrepreneur” in Dan Sullivan’s quote above:
“A [parent] is anyone who departs from the conventional formula, path, and rules for being successful. They are individuals who have the self-generated commitment, courage, capability, and confidence to make it on their own.”
When I was in the 9th grade, my friend and I engaged in an extended game of tag… For months, every time we were outside the main school building (i.e., walking to a portable, outside for gym, etc.), the game was on. Thinking back on it now, it’s probably a good thing indoors was off limits. I can’t recall when or why it started, but I remember having a fun time with it.
Did we play tag because 9th grade was a stressful time of life and we wanted to blow off some steam? Perhaps. Or was it because life was a bit more care-free back then and we just wanted to have some fun? Perhaps. Regardless, looking back on this now, I realize the power in “gamifying” life.
Parenting is hard… so why not have some fun with it? Why not set up the Peterson Family Business and get to work on improving my relationship with my wife and my three children? Parenting is serious business, but can’t I design it in such a way that it brings me joy?
THE ALLURE OF THE SIDE HUSTLE
People love side hustles. Whether for extra income, to spend time on a cause that brings them joy, or something else entirely, it’s a fact that starting a business peaks a lot of interest.
What I didn’t realize until recently was that I started a “side hustle” the day I married my wife… Well, actually, it probably started the day I started dating the woman who would eventually become my wife. My family is my side hustle. For a few years my wife and I were “business partners” with no “employees” (i.e., children), but we were still marketing and selling our “products” (i.e., our principles, attributes, and values).
Just imagine if I spent as much time marketing and selling kindness, respect, and integrity as the company on YouTube markets widgets to my children… Imagine if I set goals, improved in my “field” (i.e., parenting), and developed a “business plan” (family plan) just like all those successful entrepreneurs we see on “The Richest People in the World” list.
We should never underestimate the power of simple and consistent efforts over an extended period of time. And time is definitely something you have in your “business.” Because as a parent, your efforts don’t end when the kids move out of the house. In fact, your “business” grows as your family grows. Isn’t that exciting? With advancements in longevity, and with the commitment to take care of your health and wellbeing, you could realistically be the “entrepreneur” of a 4+ generation “business” at the time of your death. What an opportunity!
PARENTS
“No other success can compensate for failure in the home. The poorest shack in which love prevails over a united family is of greater value to God and future humanity than any other riches. In such a home God can work miracles and will work miracles.”
-David O. McKay
When I substituted parent in Dan Sullivan’s quote, this took my whole game plan as a parent to a new level. Why do so many entrepreneurs and parents/marriages ultimately fail? Because starting and growing a “business” (i.e., family) is hard. But hard things tend to reap tremendous rewards. What we need is a plan… How often do you set goals and develop a “business” plan, but just wing it as a parent - just doing what everyone else is doing since you’re out of energy by the end of the day when it’s time to take care of your kids?
Viewing parents as entrepreneurs is not meant to be a “cold” view of life. Rather, it is simply one way to accept responsibility for one of the most important roles on the planet.
THREE KINDS OF ENTREPRENEURS
Dan Sullivan, the founder of Strategic Coach, is widely regarded as the best entrepreneur coach in the world. Over the past nearly 50 years of coaching, Dan has identified three categories of entrepreneurs:
- Survival Entrepreneurs: “These individuals represent 90 percent of entrepreneurs and, essentially, they have simply created a job for themselves.”
- Lifestyle Entrepreneurs: “They represent nine percent of entrepreneurs, and their most important measurements are in terms of achieving high social standing.”
- Ambition Entrepreneurs: “This top one percent of entrepreneurs are continually motivated by their self-generated ambition over their entire lifetimes.”
Just like I did earlier, substitute the word “parent” everywhere you see the word “entrepreneur.” Then, pause and reflect.
What kind of parent are you?
Are you scraping by to “pay the bills” - in other words, is parenting a chore for you?
Are you doing what everyone else does so you can fit in with the crowd?
Or are you genuinely shaping your “business” (family) into a dynamic and inspirational organization, having “the self-generated commitment, courage, capability, and confidence to make it on [your] own?”
CONCLUSION
I have learned from experience the power of a single idea. This idea - that parents are entrepreneurs and families are their business - is important. For starters, I truly believe it will lead me from survival to ambition, and I believe it can do the same for you.
Once I accept my role as “entrepreneur,” what my family, and especially my children, are doing becomes so much more important.
Are they building up the “business?”
Are they learning what they need to learn?
Am I the example they need?
These questions and others like them are going to take me on an interesting path of discovery - I can’t wait!