If we mess up at work or in our business, we know that we can lose our jobs or source of income. But if we mess up at home, how does that affect us? As the major players on our family “team,” shouldn’t we have the same sense of commitment and urgency as we have at our work? Many of us don’t – and that is a huge problem. Why? Because if we don’t give our families the time and attention they deserve, our home team loses. Big time. And many times, we just don’t realize that we have lost until it’s too late.

If you ran a business the same way you are currently running your family, would your business be successful? Would it even be open right now? Or would you be facing bankruptcy? Maybe even a strike or walkout? The good news is this: you can have a healthy, thriving family and a healthy thriving business.

Being a parent is a lot like owning a business. In fact, if you’re a parent, you’re already an entrepreneur, or, parent-preneur. You might be thinking, “you want me to be an entrepreneur? On top of taking care of this small human being, I’m way too busy making sure this house runs like clockwork!” Guess what? You ARE the CEO of your family. And that’s a huge job. Work and income will come and go over the course of your lifetime. But it’s your family, friends, health, and integrity that really deserve your purposeful attention.

Think about this: just because you are taking care of and honoring your family doesn’t mean that you can’t be successful in business, too. According to a 2009 survey from the Kauffman Foundation, close to 60 percent of successful entrepreneurs had at least one child when they started their first business.

Starting any business venture is a lot like raising a new baby. You have to constantly nurture it and protect it from outside negative forces so it can grow. You’ll probably have a lot of sleepless nights, worrying about how you can turn this into something successful and thriving. There are lots of opinions out there and plenty of people are more than happy to give you theirs. You’ll spend a lot of time worrying that the mistakes you make today will have permanent consequences. You will also feel so much excitement and joy when you reach milestones that you have worked so hard to achieve. And ultimately, your business (like your children) become a major priority.

There are just three things we can do to find success in parenting and business:
Be intentional with your time – when you’re with your family, be with your family. Do the same with your work time.
Schedule time for your children, your partner, and your business.
Once you have a plan, stick to it.

As the old saying goes, when we fail to plan, we plan to fail. This goes for our personal and professional lives. Verne Harnish, author of the fantastic book Scaling Up has a great quote: “The leader’s final job is to ‘keep the main thing the main thing’ — to keep the organization on message and everyone heading in the same direction.” When we are intentional with our families and our businesses and keep that laser-sharp focus, we will be headed in the right direction — destination: success!