Finally!
We survived the storm. I decided to move this blog, and details aside, I thought I’d lost it all. Thank you 1 & 1 for all your help, you saved the ship.
Now, all I have to do is unpack all the boxes and put it all away….bear with me!
Can You Teach Kids To See Opportunity?
photo credit: khrawlings
I read an excellent interview with Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad) regarding prospering in a tough economy..and wanted to share this particular portion:
Q: What one thing would you tell someone who feels that this is the wrong time to be thinking about starting a small business?
A: I’d tell people to invest in themselves and teach their minds to see opportunities that their eyes don’t. This comes with financial education and personal development. This may be the very best of times for entrepreneurs with business ideas. Technology has leveled the playing field in terms of ease of entrance. In addition, there are more outlets than ever before to communicate your messages and tell your unique story.
One of the main missions of Homeschool-Entrepreneur is to encourage parents to equip their children with the ability to “see opportunity” in all situations. Like any other acquired skill, it takes instruction and practice. Once learned, it’s like riding a bike, it’s there for life.
The question still remains: HOW do you teach it to your kids?
First, I think parents have to have a good understanding of it -if they don’t already. I grew up with generations of entrepreneurs, so I thought everyone thought “entrepreneurially”. Discovering quite the opposite, I know that it’s not hard to get started. It’s a great bonding process when you are on a somewhat level playing field with your children. If you are both learning how to think entrepreneurially, or to see opportunity, it’s a great confidence builder when your kid sees an idea first and you love it!
Secondly, the condition of the economy is a constant source of news headlines and can offer fertile ground to talk about solutions. There’s more talk every day about 2009 becoming the “Year of the Entrepreneur”. Never before has there been so much encouragement coming from every possible venue to think of ways to start your own business.
Another way to stimulate conversations about how different businesses survive economic pressures is to play Investopedia with your older student. Age is relative to maturity and competence, but this is a great time to have 2 Investopedia accounts and watch what happens to the stocks as conditions flucuate. For those that aren’t familiar with Investopedia, it’s a stock simulator that uses real time numbers with your virtual $100,000 worth of stock investments that you buy and sell. No previous stock knowledge required.
Commercials on TV are usually only endured or used as time to grab a snack, but try to look at those commercials through the advertisers eyes. If that was your business, or your competitor, do you think you got your money’s worth? Was it effective in motivating the viewers to buy the product? You could even make it a school project to rate the commercials for effectiveness.
Be on the alert for consumer frustrations such as products that don’t work like they should, or a problem that doesn’t appear to have a solution. How would you solve it if you had the money to develop a new product? A young lady that didn’t think the bacon was cooking efficiently in their family’s microwave designed a better way and it’s on the market and can now be found on Walmart’s shelves! I’ll have to look it up to be sure, but I think she’s a homeschooler!
These are just a few ideas to get your entrepreneurial gears turning, I’m sure you can come up with ways of your own. Be sure to keep a journal of all your observations, looking back later will be enlightening, I promise! Starting a business is probably the best way to begin thinking like an entrepreneur, most people have no idea of all the details involved. The Small Business Administration has many resources to help you learn everything you’ll need to know and it’s completely free. Start Up Nation and Entrepreneur Magazine also has a wealth of ideas and information to help get you started. The important thing is to do just that…GET STARTED!
Helping Your Teen Start Their Own Business
Homeschooling has many advantages, especially when planning a high school curriculum. Meeting your state’s requirements, of course, is your first priority, but many people don’t realize how flexible those requirements are. I love the flexibility of gearing courses towards what my children are gifted in, not only because they enjoy it more (thus more cooperative), but we’ve stumbled on things they were interested in, too. Force feeding some subjects of course, can turn out good, too.
How many kids go kicking and screaming to their first music lesson only to discover music as a love of their life? My son resisted learning how to present speeches, only to discover he has a natural talent with giving speeches, and now enjoys it! I’m sure you have examples in your home. We never had any trouble encouraging our children to start a business, they liked making money. However, if it’s a “class” you offer as part of their school, you may discover they have a real knack for business.
No matter how you look at it, it’s a skill that will serve them for the rest of their lives. They will learn that at any point in their life, out of necessity or desire, that starting a business is very possible, and will know the basics that they need to consider before taking the plunge. A recent poll of high school students showed that 70% wanted to have their own business someday, but 90% of those had no idea how to start.
There are two common misconceptions about starting a small business. The first one being that starting a business is difficult, and the second is that it’s very simple. In a sense, both ideas are correct, it is relatively simple for anyone to start a business, but it’s difficult to make it work. This is why we believe entrepreneurship should be required in high school. Knowing exactly what it takes to start and successfully run a business helps anyone know that it’s very possible, yet have the tools necessary to make it work. The reason over one half of new businesses fail within 4 years is usually lack of good business techniques. It’s really not surprising that many new entrepreneurs go into business without knowing some of the most important business and financial basics. Be sure your child goes into life fully equipped.
That’s why as a homeschool parent, the freedom to incorporate an entrepreneur class in your curriculum is one of the best tools you could give your teen! So, I’ve had several requests to start a series on teaching our teens how to start a business, and that’s what we are going to do! If you have anything in particular you want us to cover, email us at homeschoolbiz@comcast.net.
till tomorrow…Debbie
Make a Survey With Google Docs
Google has yet another service they are offering free that could make a great homeschool entrepreneur project. I set up a survey for our newsletter readers as an example, and it took me less than an hour. Most of that time was thinking up questions! Here’s the easy instructions to create a survey with Google Docs:
First, if you don’t have an account with Google, you will need to sign up. It doesn’t cost anything, but you will need it to sign into your Google Docs account. I don’t think you have to have a gmail account, but don’t quote me on that. I believe any email address you have will do. Once you’re signed in, go to Google.com and click on ‘documents’ which is found in the “more” drop down list of their services listed at the top left. Or, go to docs.google.com.
Second, now that you’re into the program, click on the “NEW” button on the left, which drops down some choices, and for a survey, click on “FORM“. This will bring you to a new screen, and at the top you will put the name of your survey, like “My First Survey“, or whatever your survey is about. The box under that is where you can explain about the survey, like when you will give them the results, or skip questions if you like, etc. You leave the “name” box blank, it’s for the survey taker to put their name.
Third, write your questions. “Question Title” is the actual question, such as, “What kinds of music do you listen to?“. The help text can tell them if they can choose only one answer, or as many as apply. You can put a box there for a short typed answer from them, or a paragraph box for a longer answer. You can even have them rate something on a 0-5 scale. Be sure to click “Done” after each question, and add another question with the button “Add Question” on the top left. Don’t worry about mistakes, you can go back later and edit or even trash the question later with the little icons you see on the right of the question box. You can even drag and drop the question boxes to rearrange the questions if you want.
Fourth, save it all (top right), and you can view your survey by clicking the link at the very bottom of the survey, where it says, “You can view the published form here“. Try answering your own questions and be sure they all work the way you wanted them to before you send it out. To send it, just copy the link at the bottom and paste it into your email or webpage.
Finally, to view your results, just log into your Google Docs account and your surveys will be there, sorted, ready to read! Nice, huh? I’m no pro, but if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to help. Have fun!
If you missed the survey we sent out, you can still view it at:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?key=pMDeq1m3fhvynqx_u3n4jGw
Business Plan For Start-Ups Template
SCORE has a wealth of information for start ups, this site is a must for new, AND old, businesses! This link alone- http://www.score.org/template_gallery.html -
has the templates for a Business Plan, a Balance Sheet, Start-Up Expense Sheet, a Break Even Analysis, and more.
Score also provides mentors that you can connect with in person, on the phone, or online. There is no charge, so what’s stopping you? SCORE.org
Eating Local Makes Good Business!
The eating local movement is really good news for homeschool entrepreneurs. If you haven’t heard of the eating local movement, it’s basically a grassroots movement to buy your food as close to home as possible. It’s currently estimated that the average meal travels 1500 miles to get to your table, which translates to a lot of gas! As for the environmental impact, it’s a no brainer. A study at Cornell University actually stated that if Americans ate local and reduced their junk food consumption (which requires more than average processing and packaging) we could reduce our oil consumption by 50%! It takes an estimated 500 gallons of oil to produce and transport food per person, so if everybody in the US ate local just ONE day per week, that translates into a reduction in oil usage of 21 BILLION gallons per year. Do you think that would make a difference?
The “Five is fine, but nine is divine” fruit and vegetable quota is toted as a ticket to good health, but buying that produce locally would bring countless other benefits to your local economy! Did I mention that homegrown food tastes better? Oh, you know that already! I know that many homeschool families already grow their own food, and are more than aware of the health benefits, but have you thought about the BUSINESS benefits to this ‘eat local’ movement?
I’ve never seen any statistics gathered on homeschool families and exactly how many live on a farm, or have a sizeable garden, but my guess is a very high percentage do….or would like to. Starting a CSA is a little more complicated of an effort (though VERY doable), but selling at a farmer’s market is relatively simple. I’ve listed several places to find a farmer’s market in your area at the end of this post.
What if you don’t have a place to farm or garden? You could organize a farmer’s market, or help coop several smaller growers into a group effort, or make or bake a great food item from locally purchased food. Jams, jellies, breads, even herbal remedies and teas all go well at the farmer’s market. Start planning now because the projections are for next year to be a record breaker for local farmer’s markets!
What can you do now? If you have some land you haven’t planted, till it under and plant a cover crop-if you aren’t too far north, you still have time. Contact your AG center for good cover crops in your area, and a nearby farmer might help you out with plowing the land if you don’t have the equipment. You can also get a wealth of information from your county extension agent about the best crops to grow, how to make jams and much, much more. Calling the contact person of your local farmer’s market would be wise if you’re not sure what to offer. They can tell you what items are in demand, and which are over-supplied! They can also tell you what you need to do if you are planning on joining their market next year.
I’m really excited about this “Eat Local” movement, I believe that it is bringing hope to the family farm and to families that would like to have a self-sustaining lifestyle. Most of all, it’s opening a new area of business possibilities to the homeschool family, and everyone will be healthier for it!
Here’s some resources to get you started:
The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns, and hotels, and online outlets in the United States and Canada.
Food Routes.com Plan your next trip with stops at all the best LOCAL food stops! On their interactive map, you can find a listing for local farmers, CSA’s, and markets near you.
http://www.localharvest.org/ This website will help you find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably-grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.
Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA)
www.buylocalfood.com
CISA is dedicated to sustaining agriculture and promoting the products of small farms.
Chicago’s Green City Market Chicago’s only sustainable market with the highest quality locally farmed products
Usda.gov has a WholesaleandFarmersMarkets page – fantastic resource!
photo credit: jwalsh
Is a Disaster a Blessing, Or a Curse?
The following is an excellent story I (stole) from 48 Days to the Work You Love, which I have been meaning to review for ages. It’s an amazing resource/ministry that encourages and helps those that want to change their work situations. So many people are miserable at their jobs, but are either too afraid to make a change, or don’t know where to start. Dan Miller at 48 Days addresses both and offers some of the best helps on the market to do so.
We discovered 48 Days in their early years as a result of a Dave Ramsey consult. Shortly after our personal disaster (which God worked out for good), we were encouraged by the Ramsey Group to take a look at what Dan Miller offered and well… as they say, ‘The rest is history!’ I fell in love with what they were doing and wanted to do something similar, to help others like ourselves that wanted to work at home. The seed for our Homeschool-Entrepreneur.com vision was born, but did not take form for many years later.
I have read almost every newsletter Dan Miller has sent out for the last 6+ years. It’s always been brief (who has time for a long newsletter?), encouraging, uplifting, and I have printed out and saved several for the impact it had. I promise, you’ll love it. Sign up for the newsletter at 48days.com. I also highly recommend his Personality Profile for your graduating junior or senior.
Here’s a story that came from this week’s newsletter, for all the millions of people that have suffered disaster-because…’what the enemy intended for evil, the Lord works out for His good‘:
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Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, because he owned a beautiful white horse. People offered fabulous prices for the horse, but the old man always refused. “This horse is a friend, not a possession,” he would respond.
One morning the horse was not in the stable. All the villagers said, “You old fool. We told you someone would steal that beautiful horse. You could at least have gotten the money. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”
The old man responded, “Perhaps. All I know is that my horse is gone; the rest I do not know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can’t say.”
After fifteen days the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses back with him. Once again the village people gathered around the old man and said, “You were right – what we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us.” The old man responded, “Perhaps. Once again you’ve gone too far. How do you know if this is a blessing or a curse? Unless you can see the whole story, how can you judge?” But the people could only see the obvious. The old man now had twelve additional horses that could be broken and sold for a great deal of money.
The old man had a son, an only son. He began to break the wild horses. Unfortunately, after just a few days, he fell from a horse and broke both his legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and said, “You were right. The wild horses were not a blessing; they were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs and now in your old age you have no one to help you. You are poorer than ever.” But the old man said, “Perhaps. Don’t go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. We have only a fragment of the whole story.”
It so happened that a few weeks later the country went to war with a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he had two broken legs. Once again the people gathered around, crying because there was little chance their sons would return. “You were right, old man. Your son’s accident was a blessing. Our sons are gone forever.”
The old man spoke again. “You people are always quick to jump to conclusions. Only God knows the final story.”
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And so it is with our lives. What we see as a blessing or a curse may simply be part of God’s preparation for what lies ahead. Be careful in seeing “disaster” in any change. Just recognize it as change – which opens the door for good as well as bad – for gain as well as possible loss. (comment is from Dan Miller)
Be blessed. Bob & Debbie, Homeschool-Entrepreneur.com
Powerhouse PR Source From Solo-e.com!
Twitter has proved itself to be a fantastic place to meet people and find some really great friends, info, websites, and well….STUFF! I can’t believe I actually thought it was stup…..uh, trivial when I first started! (Thank you, Jeremy Palmer for getting me started!) In the last few weeks, I have had so many great people “add” me that I would probably never have discovered otherwise. One of those people is Terri Z (short for Zwierzynski) of Solo-e.com, a resource and training clearing house for entrepreneurs. The sheer amount of well organized information available for the entrepreneur at Solo-e.com is staggering, and a gold mine for any small business person! It’s a MUST bookmark.
One of my finds at Solo-e was a powerhouse PR source that you will be sure to find some publicity from, It’s called “Haro” (Help A Reporter Out) and is powered by the powerhouse of PR himself, Peter Shankman. It’s a free service (I’m sure it’s serving him well with large amounts of traffic!) he offers both to help entrepreneurs find some free publicity and news reporters find the stories they need. Sign up on his email list and he will email you several times a day listing all the requests he receives from the press for storylines. How great is that?
Sign up for Haro here: http://helpareporter.com/
Check out Solo-e.com
Add Terri Z on twitter! http://twitter.com/terrizsoloceo
Add Homeschool-Entrepreneur (that’s us…) on twitter: http://twitter.com/homeschoolbiz
Millionaire Teen Entrepreneurs-How They Did It!
The internet has opened the playing field to teens like never before, so anything is possible! Not easy, but definitely possible. Thought you’d like this:
The Most Important Thing You’ll Ever Do…
The way we look at education has to change. After watching this video, along with ‘Shift Happens‘ and a few others like ‘A Vision of Students Today‘ and ‘Information R/evolution‘ recently, I’ve been thinking alot about our educational system. Being a 20 year homeschool veteran, but being a public school and state university student growing up, I come away wondering where it’s all going….or more importantly, where it should be going.
It’s amazing that we have more information at our fingertips than ever before, yet very little of that ability is being applied to maximizing that 180 days of required school time each year. I don’t want to dispute or promote any of the immensely diverse homeschool or public school teaching philosophies, but I think we all need to crawl out of our academic slurries and take a look around. The world is changing at an exponential rate. Time is not on our side. As soon as something is taught, it’s outdated, so what do we do?
Computers, the internet, cell phones, game systems, MP3 players, media of various kinds….this is where our kids connect with the world, why aren’t we using these systems to connect our kids to what they need to know to become responsible and productive adults? In a perfect world, there would be two internets, one for education, the other commercial. Since that isn’t the case, are there classes teaching kids how to search the internet safely and productively? They figure it out, sure, but at what cost? After they’ve found more garbage than good? Why aren’t computers being used to individualize each students learning pace?
Enough of my ranting, what is the answer? Homeschooling offers parents the freedom to create an ideal education for their child, but are often ill-equipped to do so. I get overwhelmed at times wondering if I can even begin to keep up with the advancing technology…can they? Kids seem to have a second nature with all this tech stuff, our challenge as parents is to channel that nature into advantageous activities.
One of the main reasons we developed our Home Business Course is because it’s just one example of a real life project that incorporates many areas of learning. Motivating learning by doing something that has purpose works for adults and kids alike! You don’t have to take the course to start a business with your child, and it doesn’t even have to be make money. You could start a non-profit, teaching all the aspects of fundraising and everything it takes just to help a group of people.
Starting a business as a school project also begins to develop an ‘Entrepreneurial Mindset’ – and your children may begin to see how all those tech gadgets can be used for building their business, and may even discover new ways of using them, or improving them.. the possibilities are endless. Maybe the mindless ways TV, cellphones, MP3 players and the like are being used can be transformed into tools to build their minds enough to possibly keep up with the pace knowledge is moving……..