Strategic Planning for Family Success: Where to Start?

"Where do I even start?" That’s the question I often get from parents and friends when I talk about The Business of Parenting philosophy—using tried-and-true business principles to create a thriving and successful family life. My answer is simple and always the same: Start with where you are.

Every family is unique. What works for one family might not work for another, and that’s okay! What I’ll share in this blog I do so with utmost humility. My husband and I do not consider ourselves to be perfect parents—we’ve had to do a lot of course-correcting over the years. That said, I believe that learning from both successes and missteps can provide valuable insights. My goal is to share strategies and ideas grounded in both experience and research to help you create a family life that aligns with your values and aspirations. After all, you’re the expert on your family. My hope is to equip you with practical tools and principles that you can adapt to build a foundation of success in a way that feels true to who you are and the goals you have for your family.

Start Where You Are

Before we can figure out where we’re going, we need to take a good, honest look at where we are. Parenting, like leadership, is a process that starts from within. It begins with self-reflection—taking an honest look at where we are as parents and identifying areas where we can grow and improve. As we work on ourselves, we naturally create a positive ripple effect that strengthens our families and brings us closer to the vision we hold for them. 

Successful business also engage in this self-reflective process to figure out how to chart a course toward their goals. They start with a SWOT analysis, which stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. While it sounds fancy, it’s really just a way of assessing their current situation.

As parents, we can adapt this concept to reflect on our family’s current rhythm. Think of it as hitting pause for a moment to ask yourself:

• What’s working well for us right now?

• What’s not working?

• What opportunities do we have to grow closer, simplify things, or try something new?

• What external factors (like hectic schedules, stress, or unexpected challenges) are getting in the way?

  
  

You don’t need to make this a big, formal process. It could be as simple as chatting with your partner over coffee, jotting down your thoughts in a notebook, or even sitting down as a family and asking everyone to weigh in. The goal is to get clear on where your family stands today—no judgment, just clarity.

To help you with this process, I’ve created a free downloadable Parent Reflection Notebook. It’s a simple, guided document where you can take notes and work through these questions step by step. You can download it by signing up [here]. It’s my way of making this process a little easier and helping you get started.

Why This Step is So Important

I’ll be honest—this step can feel overwhelming at first. Sometimes, it’s hard to admit when something isn’t working, or we might realize we’ve been so busy that we haven’t stopped to celebrate what is working. But trust me, this reflection is worth it. Just like a business can’t move forward effectively without understanding its starting point, families need a solid foundation to grow from.

When you take the time to reflect, you’re not just identifying what’s going wrong—you’re also discovering what’s going right and laying the groundwork for meaningful, lasting changes. It’s like setting the GPS before a road trip. You need to know where you’re starting from to figure out the best route forward.

What’s Next?

Once you’ve taken stock of where you are, you’re ready to start dreaming about where you want to go. In my next post, I’ll share how to set meaningful family goals and create a simple, actionable plan to achieve them. But for now, take a moment to appreciate this first step. You’ve already done something powerful by reflecting on your family’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities.

You’re one step closer to building the family life you’ve been dreaming of—and I can’t wait to help you get there!

Jackie M