We’ve all had those “someday” dreams, the ones that stay with us through the seasons of growing a business, raising a family, and showing up for everyone else. For me, that dream was a beach house.
It started small. Each summer, I’d walk through beachside towns and feel a spark of recognition. Something about the rhythm of the waves, the scent of the salt air, the mix of creativity and calm in the coastal shops—it felt like where I belonged. I’d wander through local stores and talk about which decor would look great “in the beach house,” as if it already existed. I even started a collection—a “cottage box” full of coasters, photos, and little treasures I imagined using one day.
At some point, it wasn’t just my dream anymore. One summer, my son was taking sailing lessons in the town we were visiting. As we walked to the water, he turned to me and said, “Hey Mom, when we get the beach house, can we get a little sailboat too?” I stopped. “Wait,” I said, “Are you in my dream right now?” He smiled and said, “Yeah, Mom. It’s gonna happen.”
That moment stuck with me. My dream had become part of our family story—and yet, years went by.
Between parenting, running a company, and being fully present in my day-to-day life, I always believed the dream was “for later.” And each summer, the dream got clearer—but I hadn’t taken any real steps toward it.
For a long time, I held back out of fear. Fear of making the wrong decision. Fear of choosing the wrong town, the wrong house. Fear of not getting it just right. Would my whole family even be on board? Could I really pull it off?
But I’ve learned something we all know deep down as business owners: waiting for the perfect plan is just another way to stay in place.
And while I had been dreaming with heart, I hadn’t been planning with intention.
Eventually, I started approaching the dream differently. I began thinking about it the same way I approach growth in my business: with clarity, structure, and action. I started asking the real questions—what would it take financially, logistically, and emotionally to make this happen? I talked with my family. I researched towns. I made the time.
Because here’s the thing: dreams don’t become reality by magic. They become real when we treat them like priorities.
I started realizing that what had held me back wasn’t a lack of resources. It was a lack of planning around something deeply personal. And that’s not uncommon for us, is it? We help our clients plan for their goals every day. But our own dreams can feel harder to prioritize—less urgent than a client deadline or staff meeting.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in both life and business is this: visioning isn’t fluff—it’s leadership. The ability to imagine something that doesn’t exist yet, feel it fully, and build toward it one step at a time is at the heart of what we do as entrepreneurs.
Whether you’re dreaming of a beach house, an exit strategy, a more flexible schedule, or a new service line that lights you up—don’t leave it in the background.
Live in that vision a little. Talk about it. Feel it. Write it down. And then—just like you would for your next quarterly goal—make a plan. Give it a timeline. Define the next step.
Because no one builds a dream all at once. But we can all take a step toward it today.
The moment I started treating this dream like something real—not just something emotional or aspirational, but something I could actually map out—it began to shift.
And that’s the takeaway I want to share with my fellow accounting and business owner peers:
We are builders of systems, plans, and futures. Don’t forget to use those same tools to build the life you want.
It’s not selfish. It’s not unrealistic. It’s part of what makes all the rest of it worth it.
So—what’s your “beach house” dream?