Why Personal Planning Matters More Than Business Planning

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.

I was miserable.

Related: Your Company’s Culture Isn’t ‘Fine’ — Here’s How to Stop Avoiding the Problem and Start Fixing It

Personal planning must come first

People are drawn to entrepreneurship for all sorts of reasons. The only right reasons, however, are the ones that connect with your personal purpose.

That’s why personal planning — not financial, not business — must come first.

And yet, like the drive I selected over and over again as I cleaned off that powdery parking lot, most people are doing it all in reverse.

If you’re reading Entrepreneur, I probably don’t have to tell you that it’s easy to get knee deep in your business operations. In the early stages of a business, you have your hand in everything, and it’s easy to become like the Walking Dead, just slogging along until another problem comes along that only you can solve.

But if you view your business like that, I have a warning: weeks become months, and months become years. Pretty soon you’ll look around and wonder why — even if your business is booming — you’re driven to do this work at all.

Related: How to Know When It’s Time to Sell Your Business — Before It’s Too Late

What Millennial Entrepreneurs value

We have big plans for our lives. We should honor that, but also keep a close eye on that last word: lives.

That’s because we also value meaningful work, and that meaning will change throughout our lifetime. For W-2 employees, that’s led to a reputation of having many jobs over a lifetime, with 21% of Millennials changing jobs in 2024, according to Gallup.

We’re also ambitious. I’ve seen that in the data my organization—the Exit Planning Institute—collected in the National State of Owner Readiness Report. Our generation led all others in terms of annual revenue over $100M, measuring and tracking business value, and seeking counsel for business operations.

Our generation of entrepreneurs is also less likely to stay with one business for as long as our predecessors. 48% of Millennials plan to transition in the next five years. Part of why, I think, is we’re less likely to want the 60-80 hour work week that our Baby Boomer parents sold us. We want work-life balance—we’ve seen the regret of past generations who didn’t prioritize it.

Related: How to Succeed as a Millennial Entrepreneur

Your first STEPs to a personal plan

A personal plan shouldn’t get in the way of your current business. In fact, the best personal plans help you evolve your relationship with your business: finding harmony, creating value, and leading to a happier life.

But you cannot start a personal plan without knowing your personal purpose.

Here’s how to take your first steps: the STEP Exercise. Take a weekend and complete it. It covers:

• Spiritual: What drives your relationship with a higher power or your spirituality?
• Things: What things in your life help you achieve your personal purpose? What things do you desire?
• Experiences: What experiences “ring your joy bell?”
• People: Who are the people most meaningful in your life?

The exercise asks you to think about these four facets of your personal life and helps set out to achieve them, while building a plan to continue working towards the life you want.

Related: Every Business Owner Needs an Exit Plan — It’s Time You Develop Yours.

Personal plans are still plans

Note that I’m not calling personal plans dreams. Dreams are something for later, something you might never achieve.

It’s time to start living out your personal plan now. Your business will be better for it—you’ll identify areas of your work that aren’t bringing you joy and build infrastructure to deliver those tasks to someone who might be more fulfilled by them than you are.

Once you discover your personal purpose, it’s time to action it like any other business plan. Work on:

• A 10-year vision: In 10 years, how will your life have moved you closer to your personal purpose, both at work and home?
• A three-year strategy: What is the first major step towards realizing that vision?
• A one-year goal: What does measurable progress towards your strategy look like?
• 90-day sprints: What action items are necessary in the next 90 days to help you reach your one-year goal?

Related: Looking to Achieve Your Goals But Don’t Know Where to Start? Try These Proven Goal-Setting Strategies.

Empowerment is empowerment

There are few leaders more empowered at work than those who feel progress toward their personal goals and get to live out their personal purpose in all facets of their lives.

Personal plans aren’t about activities. Golf gets boring. There are only so many fish to catch. Personal plans are about fulfillment — noticing when you are most happy and asking yourself why the scenario makes you happy. And then: how that fulfillment is scalable to all areas of your life.

These are hard questions, no doubt. And, they’ll take more than a little introspection and a lot of activation, both at home and at work.

Luckily, you don’t have to do this alone. If you’re not sure where to start or need guidance creating a personal plan that fits neatly with your business plans, finding a Certified Exit Planning Advisor can help.

A thriving business starts with a clear sense of personal purpose. This fosters joy and meaningful connections in both your personal and professional journey.

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.