05/27/2026
Are You Running a Profitable Business? (Even if You Don’t Own One)
Years ago, when I was teaching financial literacy classes, I used to challenge the room with a single question: "If your household was a business, would you invest in it based on how it’s being run?"
The truth is, we all need to treat our personal finances as if we are running a company. For me, that company is the "Business of Michael Brown."
Think about it: No business can survive, let alone thrive, unless it knows exactly where its money is going. A CEO can't make strategic growth decisions if they don't know their average spend, their overhead, or whether they are over or under budget for the quarter.
Yet, so many people try to manage their personal future entirely by guesswork.
The only way to break that cycle is radical tracking. It’s a habit I’ve kept through every stage of my career:
When I was making minimum wage as a bank teller, I tracked every single monthly expense.
When I transitioned into healthcare administration and crossed into six figures, I tracked every single expense.
Do I still track expenses today? Absolutely.
Every transaction goes in a Google Sheet. Different tab for every month. New sheet every year. Because of that discipline, I have the exact "profit and loss statement" for the Business of Michael Brown going back years.
You don't need a massive income to start running a tight ship. You just need the discipline to look at your numbers honestly. When you master the micro-habits of tracking, the macro-decisions about your future become incredibly clear.
If you treated your personal finances like a business today, what would your Q2 report card look like?
