Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
This article is part of the America's Favorite Mom & Pop Shops series. Read more stories
Key Takeaways Personal plans are often the last type of plan a business owner considers, if at all.
Millennials value work-life balance, and starting with a personal plan can help you achieve it.
Personal planning can contribute to your company’s value by identifying the source of your professional fulfillment.
Here’s what I know now: my personal purpose is to create unique opportunities for the people in my life. Whether it’s my colleagues, my friends or especially my family, I get the most fulfillment from watching them experience something new — something that will become a core memory in their lives or careers.
And yet, there I was, a young business owner in a snowy parking lot on Christmas Eve.
As a Millennial, I was doing what I thought I should be doing. Like most in my generation, I earn to spend. That’s part of what resulted in me finding myself plowing snow in a commercial parking lot on Christmas Eve. With my name on the side of the truck, I didn’t have much of a picture of how much would ever be enough — mostly because my plans were dreams and bigger than I ever thought possible.
And, along with being a Millennial comes following in the footsteps of Baby Boomer parents — parents who preached hard work in your first act would result in personal fulfillment in your last act.
But, as I shifted the truck out of the parking lot, down the lonely streets to a quiet home — a home that just hours earlier held the core memories I longed to create for those I loved — I was not fulfilled.
... continue reading