Executive Homemaker Series: Goals

Mission Statement has been created with the help of Tsh Oxenreider's post Back to Basics: Create a Family Mission Statement on her blog Simple Mom. Next step is creating family goals a.k.a. objectives.  Writing the mission for my family made us really think about who we are, where we are, and where we want to be. Creating the statement was that first step to build the momentum of getting to the real guts of our family plan.

According to the textbook Small Business Management "Objectives are the purposes, goals, and desired results for the business [family] and its parts."

As my husband and I talked about our goals and desired results, we realized a bit more understanding of our individual, husband & wife needs should to be presented before committing our family's path to paper. (Of course, if you have older children then they should be included in the goal setting. For us, B, though she may think she's 12, is only 2 so we have a proxy vote for her!)

Dr. Willard F. Harley, Jr Marriage Builders has created 5 pertinent questionnaires for spouses to complete. In preparation for setting The Demetrio Family, Inc.'s Goals, we are answering these questionnaires to make sure where we think we are is correct and what tweaking needs to be done to make our objectives clear, concise, realistic, and achievable.

We'll be doing this over the next couple evenings and then create our goals!

Did creating your Mission Statement make you think about your family's goals and directions?

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I came out of the closet

...crying. Back in the day I had a wardrobe to die for. Every weekend another RL piece was added to my collection. For business trips I chose hotels closest to the best stores. Walking into my closet was like walking into a library. Every isle held a treasure, every piece had a story. Then I went into the family business in a filthy shop that I would not dare bring one of my treasured pieces into for fear a spec of dirt may deface that beautiful polo horse. Jeans and "disposable" shirts were my professional wear.

As the years went by I added more jeans & disposable shirts and we bought a 100 year old house with the smallest closets known to man. I started to say goodbye to my beautiful wardrobe. First I started with the out of style trendy stuff meant only for a season. After that it is all a blur.

Today I did a quick inventory of what I have. NOTHING! That's right. Over the past eight years I have slowly given away or sold my wonderful works of art. I kept 2 suits, they are safely stowed away in their zippered bags, and a few boutique items that are one of a kinds. Everything else? Jeans, crappy shirts, polyester, baby-puke stained everything.

Now with my new career as Executive Homemaker and Mompreneur I need to rethink my wardrobe. Staying in my pj's all day is not a good business practice. So today is the last day for showering mid-afternoon, changing out of PJ's into other PJ's, and crappy shirts.

Time to live by the motto-"Dress for the job you want, not the job you have". I want a well organized home and home-business, I want routine, schedules, I want success and opportunity. When shopping in the middle of the weekday pushing a stroller I want people to see me and say "Wow,  that woman is an Executive Homemaker".

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Executive Homemaker Series: How to use your Mission

Executive Homemaker Series:
Ways to use a Family Mission Statement


It is difficult building a business, especially a pre-existing one; creating the Family Mission Statement is proving to be even tougher! While doing research on "family" stuff I came across an awesome website: Families with purpose and the post How to Use a Family Mission Statement.

The list of ways a family can use their mission statement is really what stood out to me and helped make this task more meaningful and not as daunting. Here are the main points from the article:

Ways in Which Families Can Use a Family Mission Statement

• Use a Family Mission Statement to Create Meaningful Family Goals
• Use a Family Mission Statement to Help Make Big Decisions
• Use a Family Mission Statement to Help Regain Focus
• Use a Family Mission Statement to Remember Your Passion

Does your family remember it's passion?

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Find the Perfect Pair of Denim with the Perfect Fit at Torrid.com

FruGal is Freedom

I know August is not over, but it's darn near close. Month number 2 of our No Spend Challenge has gone quite well. Here are some of the highlights:

Overall cash spent outside of utilities and mortgage, we are going to finish about $200 less than July! High Five to us!

We did eat out a few times this month, I will admit...but we had coupons for everything! The 3 of us ate lunch at Steak and Shake, during their happy hour- half priced drinks, and with our 3 coupons we ended up saving over $6.00 off the total bill...that's an entire meal there! We walked out of there paying $11.00. Sweet!

Dryer? I have one? I've plumb forgot about having an electric dryer in the basement next to the washer. Everything gets line-dried...even socks now! Am I going overboard yet?

"Do you have your coupons mommy?" This is the question B asks before we leave the house now. She's my little FruGirl.

The only major hurdle is getting my husband to get receipts for things he purchases, no matter how small the bill. Today he said "Oh, I forgot. I did good the first two weeks." Well sweetie, those first 2 weeks were SIX weeks ago. Get with the program my dear Hubby; consider this your verbal warning. ;-)

My mind set has gone from "I'm doing this 'cause I ain't bringing home the bacon anymore and the baby needs a new pair of shoes" to "I'm doing this out of love for my family and myself."

This ethereality hit me yesterday while B played in her sandbox and I sat on the patio removing oregano leaves from their stems to dry them for the winter. It was a long, tedious task but I was enjoying the outdoors, the quiet, and my daughter building birthday cakes in the sand.

Frugal is freeing causing fear to be fleeting.

I'm on top of the world!

Single Income Survival

We are a single income family (SIOK). I never imagined uttering those words. Fortunately when my husband and I bought our home we made sure that we could survive on one income...just in case. Well, we pulled the just in case card and are surviving.

Suggestions to avoid extreme panic and get into frugal, single income mode.

1. Do not Freak out! Go ahead and have a pity party...for one day then get to work on your new life.
2. Sit with your significant other and kids and discuss what happened, what will happen, and what needs to happen.
3. Take inventory of EVERYTHING and label it either a need or a want. That's right, everything. The lamps on your tables to your season tickets to the Bears.
4. Call all vendors to request cheaper packages or cancel services all together.
5. If you have a savings account...forget that you do! Do everything in your power to not use it!
6. Cut up all credit cards
7. Start selling "stuff" that is just taking up space and is not essential for your survival. Decluttering helps create a calm, positive environment. Put the money you make on your stuff into an emergency fund not to be touched unless there is an extreme emergency.
8. Use cash only and keep track of every penny you spend...every penny! Your debit card is not cash! After the first month, look over what you spent and trim off what you can do without for the next month.
9. Buy only sale items and ideally only if you have a coupon to add to it!
10. Learn to enjoy being with your family, just enjoy being. Take a walk every night, cook dinner together, play board games together. You'll be surprised at how wonderful you'll feel and the more meaningful your actions from just being together, loving each other and not the stuff you once only focused on!

Don't get me wrong. I have days where the panic is trying to take control but then I look at how far we've come in just 7 months. How better of stewards we are becoming, how better a couple and family we are, and how better a cook I've become!

Executive Homemaker Series: Do You Have a Mission?

Holy Crap! We spent money like drunken sailors in port!

I have had 7 months to get a feel for my new position as COO of D&F, Inc. A few changes have been implemented here and there, but nothing drastic to cause a mutiny.

As a Chief Executive in the business world it took quite a while to take inventory of the situation I was entering, the people I was working with, the back office health and the front office image. This step was the hardest part, but because of the invested time in the beginning, implementing the plan went smooth, quick and successful.

Here is the main inventory list I've compiled:

1. 50% loss of household revenue

2. Poor stewardship of money, no definitive monetary goals

3. No "department" plans or objectives

4. Seat of the pants training of new recruits

5. Ill defined job descriptions

6. Building needs maintenance

7. Enthusiastic co-CEO, willing to do whatever it takes to succeed.

If you are an avid reader of The Mom Standard (Of course you are!), you know that we have started addressing 1 and 2. Our No Spend Challenge for August is going much better than July and I anticipate the remainder months of the year to only be better. No department is authorized to purchase anything that is not needed nor on sale. Expense receipts are collected daily down to the penny and "attaboys" are given when we save money on our needed purchases.

By the end of the year we will be better equipped to define our present and future monetary goals and how we are going to meet them. We will also be better equipped at knowing what truly is important to our family!

What's next for KimD, Executive Homemaker?
Marriage is a contract, a covenant. Family & household functioning should be one too. This is where I believe people tend to get stuck.

Entering marriage in most cases is pretty formal...meeting with ministers, pre-marriage counseling, etc. The focus was so much on the candidates that the positions and the goals of the "company" were not well defined nor detailed in how to attain them. "Oh we want to have kids in a few years, a house, and a dog one day" is NOT a detailed, orchestrated plan! Operating procedures are needed for our family to run like a well oiled machine.

Our Family Mission Statement is what's next on my to-do list.


What do you think? Do you have a well defined plan for your family? Do you have a family mission statement?

I'd really love to hear thoughts on this!

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