I firmly believe that God has given all of us a purpose and a gift to fulfill that purpose. So, it really boils down to identifying what we were created for and enjoying what God put us here for. Thinking of a business in the area you are passionate about is easy once you know what to look for.

Most likely, you know your area of interest pretty well because you love it so much, so sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and list the different products and services in your market and consider the following:

• What products or services in your area have you noticed problems with? What could you do to solve those problems?
• Is there a product that could use a fresh take? Starbucks took coffee from it’s hum drum, boring existence and raised it to glamorous heights by changing the way people drink it!
• What new products have hit the market recently that you could do something with? When the iPod came out, many people found their fortunes in writing software apps and designer accessories. Don’t overlook hot new book or movie releases or recurring new themes.
• Taking a different look at the changes around us has opportunity written all over it. Going green has created many new businesses and services. The economy has made many simple money-saving blogs famous. Are you known as a cheapskate? Great! Start a blog and share your ideas for saving money.
• Don’t be afraid of competition. Is there a product or service out there you can do just a little bit better? Publix is a grocer that sets itself apart with it’s premium customer service. Almost any business can excel if your customer service shines.

Some great places to get a feel for the latest trends:

http://google.com/trends

http://pulse.ebay.com/

http://buzzlog.buzz.yahoo.com/overall/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/

http://content.usatoday.com/life/books/booksdatabase/default.aspx

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/bestseller/

What ways have you researched your business ideas?

This week, February 20-27, the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education is sponsoring the 4th annual National Entrepreneurship Week. In 2006 the US Congress established National Entrepreneurship Week as a celebration of American entrepreneurs and the lifelong learning educational opportunities that prepare the NEW business leaders of the future. Supporting the entrepreneurial culture is part of their emphasis, but advocating entrepreneurial education is their primary objective.

Who is the Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education?

“A national membership organization composed of 100+ agencies and institutions supporting entrepreneurship education as a lifelong learning process. Member organizations represent over 40,000 teachers that annually reach at least 2 million students nationwide. Our mission is to incorporate entrepreneurship education within all disciplines, to infuse students with the entrepreneurial mindset, and encourage our members to work together to create educational opportunities to meet the demands of a global economy. We believe that entrepreneurs are not “born”, but rather they “become” through the experiences of their lives.”  (taken from their website, Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education)

Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education and the information they offered was largely responsible for the inspiration behind Homeschool Entrepreneur. Their philosophy of exposing all students to the basics of entrepreneurship as an essential component to any education was a revelation to me. As a child, I grew up with the spirit of entrepreneurship, which progressed naturally to making it an integral part of our homeschool. It’s one of those moments you realize that something you’ve always taken for granted isn’t necessarily a part of everyone’s experience – yet see the intrinsic value of making it so. Hence, Homeschool-Entrepreneur was born – as a way to share simple ways to make entrepreneurial thinking a part of every family that catches the vision.

Check out their website, www.entre-ed.org,  for a wealth of information to satisfy your entrepreneurial cravings. If you know someone that is unemployed, send them to their new “One Stop Career Center” that is providing entrepreneurship education, training, and coaching to the unemployed as a viable alternative to the traditional job hunt. Individual entrepreneurs have been the fastest growing segment in the current recession.It simply works.

Find Activities In Your State

So, what exactly happens during National Entrepreneurship Week? Well, that depends on where you live. It varies dramatically, but a good place to start is the map at www.nationaleweek.org and click on your state. Many states (like Tennessee) don’t have anything at all, but there is something that I haven’t had a chance to catch yet that looks interesting that anyone reading this can access. The Small Business Administration is offering FREE Youthpreneur webinars at 10 am and 2 pm (CST) all week. I intend to catch Wednesday’s webinar by Michael Simmons, Co-Founder & CEO, Extreme Entrepreneurship Tour,  on Why Every Student Should Be an Entrepreneur. For more information and access codes to this week’s webinars (held at readytalk.com) go to www.nationaleweek.org/eweek_files/SBANationalEntrepreneurshipWeek.pdf

We’ll cover more of this week’s activities later this week. Don’t miss it!

A little background:

I found this video on a highly informative website, Mark Flavin’s Internet Marketing Blog. He offers a decent “best traffic tips” download free (for the price of your email address, of course) which is very worthwhile.

TED, in case you haven’t discovered this as a resource for your homeschool high school, is a library of the best speeches (majority under 30 minutes – which is well over the average American’s attention span!). You can do a search for the subject at hand, or use it to help with form, etc in your own “speech class”! Check out TED, “Ideas Worth Spreading”.

If you do see an idea that you’ve been considering, listen carefully to the investor’s responses, but please don’t think that is how it is in the real world. Most investors are only interested in one thing (profit), but are not as cruel as you will see on Shark Tank. What you will learn are what investors are really looking at when an idea is presented to them. Old as well as young entrepreneurs can learn a great deal by watching this show.

Another learning resource you’ll like is the “Free Stuff” offered on the Shark Tank’s website. If you are teaching your teens business currently, there is an excellent Investment Glossary of Terms as well as a list of 150 of the best headlines ever. There’s many other goodies there, too, so it’s worth checking out even if you don’t watch the show.

At first, I thought this domain had already expired and this company has purchased it in hopes it was it an oversight on my part to renew it. That would be rather crafty, yet a rotten way to make a living. However, on further investigation, this particular domain doesn’t even expire until Jan 18. So I still own it – AND – ordinarily would auto-renew with One & One, but I had pre-set it to allow it to expire. I have over 30 domains and it was an idea that didn’t work out. You see, when I have an idea, I’ll buy the domain for $6-$9 and work on it when I have time (in theory). This just happened to be one that I didn’t want anymore.

However, if this had been one of my primary domains and I didn’t know any better, it may have been a different story. Unfortunately, there are many companies out there ready to pounce on unsuspecting clients. It takes awhile to learn all there is to know about how all this online stuff works, so don’t feel bad if you’ve actually fallen for one of these “opportunities”.  I think it’s Dave Ramsey that calls the money we spend on mistakes like this “Stupid Tax”.

Have you ever gotten letters like this that almost … or did… fool you? Always get your domains from a reputable hosting company (we list our favorites at Homeschool-Entrepreneur.com/gettingonline )-but NEVER pay more than $10 or $15 for one. There is no reason to – really. Go Daddy is arguably the most popular domain registrar, but I can’t handle their -shall I say ‘provocative’ -  advertising. Not family friendly in our home.  I use One & One and really find it easy to track and manage several domains at once with their easy to use interface. Anyone have a favorite domain hosting company?

A Lesson For Discussion:

Just a side note: In all fairness, “Website Registration Services” isn’t really an actual scam as far as I know, just a deviate way to do business. It could also be a great mini-entrepreneurial lesson to discuss with your youth, not just as a lesson in critical thinking, but as a lesson in ethical practices. “Website Registration Services” are doing nothing dishonest (I hope). However, are they not exploiting people’s lack of knowledge? You decide, and create a lesson for your future entrepreneurs to take with them throughout life.

That doesn’t apply to selling textbooks though! There is a great deal to be made selling used textbooks online. Many students still haven’t realized the benefits of selling their last semester’s textbooks online rather than selling them back to their school’s bookstore for much less than they could sell them for themselves. Then there are those that want to keep their textbooks for whatever reason, not thinking about how quickly the information is outdated. They may not be aware of how much they can sell them for, even if they didn’t pay full price for them.

My son goes to a private college and many of the students there don’t care about keeping their textbooks OR selling them. My son and his roommate made several hundred dollars last year just selling textbooks offered on a giveaway table at school. If you or someone you know is a student at a college, there are many places to find used textbooks that still have significant value, some close to $100 or more. I’ve even seen tents set up around our community college with the sign “We Buy Your Textbooks”. There is a way to look up what a textbook is currently worth and can be reasonably certain it will sell for.

HOW And WHERE To Sell Used Textbooks:

There are a few ‘tricks of the trade’, but it’s really quite easy to sell textbooks online. Amazon is the venue of choice, offering you traffic that can’t be matched. However, you will pay the highest fees selling on Amazon. Half.com, an Ebay company, is different from selling on Ebay directly. Their fees aren’t much less, but you do save a little on fees. You will not receive the traffic you’ll find on Amazon. (You will find the best prices on textbooks on Half.com is you’re purchasing them, though!) If you are an experienced Ebay seller, many find Ebay to be the most profitable – but the lowest rate of sales.

Selling a book on Amazon is as easy as clicking on “Sell Your Stuff” and following the prompts. Making a reasonable business out of doing this takes a little training which fortunately is free for the study on Amazon and other major sellers.

Amazon’s Webinar On Selling Textbooks is FREE

Amazon offers a great deal of help for their online sellers, and is offering a webinar Wednesday at 10 am, Jan 13th specifically to help textbook sellers. You can find information on this webinar, and details and fees for selling any book in Amazon’s Marketplace. Books aren’t the only item you could sell on Amazon, you can sell unwanted CD’s, DVD’s, videos games and much, much more.

There are several books (available on Amazon, of course!) that will help you get started selling online, but always check the copyright date. Selling online has changed dramatically in the last five years, even the last few years, so be sure it’s offering you very current information. It’s very easy to sell a book on Amazon, but difficult to make a decent income doing so. It is possible to make a healthy income selling used books online, and is an excellent home business for homeschoolers. The hardest, and most important, activity is finding the right books to sell. Excellent customer service is also critical.

Click here to find information on selling textbooks on Amazon and their webinar this week: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200270440

Details and where to start selling books on Amazon: http://www.amazonservices.com/content/sell-on-amazon.htm?ld=AZFSSOA

Christine Miller has written a good book recently on selling books on Amazon for stay-at-home moms. Anyone that needs to make money on a crazy schedule at home will find this book useful, not just SAHM’s! Check out  How to Sell Books on Amazon: The Stay-at-Home Mom’s Secret Guide to Selling Used Books on Amazon

Caught playing games with his nieces!

I found this list of 14 games on Sparkplugging, a website that you’ll find more great information about starting a home business. Started by Wendy Piersall, it was originally a website just for moms starting a business, but when she realized that the bulk of her readers were men, she changed her look to accommodate everyone.

These 14 educational games are classics, and I’ve talked about several of them before. Since many of you are still looking for Christmas presents for your children that will last longer than a day, I thought you’d like a list to take to the store. I’m a big believer in incorporating educational games into the school routine, and games about business were always big at our house!

A heads up on the game, The Sims 2: Open For Business, it’s an expansion pack, with a “T” rating. When we bought this game we were really excited, yet learned to read the fine print BEFORE I leave the store from now on.  I was so glad when my game-savvy older son informed his not-so-game-savvy mom that you need the original Sims 2 game to play this particular “expansion pack” (I had no idea what that meant, but it wasn’t clear on the package to someone like me that you needed something else to make this game work!).

Thankfully, we had not opened the game yet and were able to return it. Maybe we’ll tackle the entire set next year . . . although I also noticed (again, after the fact) that there was a “T” rating, which included the warning of “Crude humor, sexual themes, violence” – so maybe NOT.

Many of the games referred to are available as a download, at a much more reasonable price than most of the board games this year. There are many business-type games you can try over at Gamehouse (one of the few game sites of this type that Cnet deems safe) and they can be purchased to keep for as little as $6.99.   Signing up for the free trial allows you to try any of their games for 60 minutes, and as a thank you for trying them out, they give you one full featured game to keep. Of course, they hope that you continue paying the monthly fee, and we did do that last year for a few months and came away with several games that my younger son still plays. Jane’s Hotel and Diner Dash are two of his favorites, but there are many more sophisticated business related games available there. Most of the “tycoon” games are available, and I really liked being able to try many of the games online without having to download them onto our computer first.

While you’re over at Sparkplugging, be sure to sign up for their  FREE 21-Page Internet Business Idea Guide. We plan on covering the ‘how-to’ of many of those ideas next year. Make 2010 your year to finally get that online business started!

Read all 14 games at http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/14-educational-games-to-teach-your-kids-about-business/

Answer 3 quick survey questions for Wendy and get her ” Top Ten Marketing Mistakes Made by Home Business Entrepreneurs!” That’s something we SHOULD cover next year! Can you tell I have big plans for next year?

Do any of you have a game you’ve found that has good “business educational” value? Would love to hear!

From now until December 10th, we will be offering our entire Homeschool Entrepreneur course, Entrepreneurship 101, for half price. That will include all the free ebooks and one year of full access to the Business Resource Center for just $33.50.

But that’s just the beginning . .

You asked for it . . .

We’ve had many requests for a hard copy of our Entrepreneurship 101, so this is what we have come up with-just in time to give you a way to give the gift of entrepreneurship in a way you can WRAP.

We’ve placed the entire course onto a CD in a 5″ x 8″ (approx) case.  The CD includes the entire E-101 Course in an easy to print format, templates for all the business forms,  links to the Resource Center, and several bonuses. Order now to reserve this CD version at half price, gift wrapped and shipped free of charge! (you will also receive instant access to the online version)

The CD’s will be ready for shipment Dec 10th, in time to receive and wrap up for Christmas. We’ll even giftwrap it for you. There will be a limited number of these available, so order now to reserve your copy! You must order with this link to receive the CD for the $33.50 price (regular price, $67).

Read more details about the course at HomeschoolECourse.com or see a video tour of the course and the Resource Center at Homeschool-Entrepreneur.com. Remember to return here to get your special price available only through the following link:

Order Entrepreneurship 101 on CD at 50% off>>

*remember, we offer a 59 day, 100% satisfaction, money back guarantee. No hassle. We promise.

What is the 2012 concern?

In case you haven’t heard the details on what the 2012 hype is all about, and what the newly released movie, 2012 will define for most (unfortunately), here are the basics:

-It all started with the fact that the Mayan calendar ends on December 21, 2012.

-The winter solstice sun will align with the earth, moon and the Milky Way-which supposedly hasn’t happened in 26,000 years.(fact not verified)

These “facts”, along with a myriad of prophecies that could be interpreted many ways, there are more theories materializing daily as to how the world will end on that day. Most of them think it involves the end of the world as we know it.

First of all, as a Christian, the Bible is very specific about no one knowing the exact time of the end of the world. One interesting fact that The History Channel pointed out in their examination of this craze is that 2012 does happen to fall in a time of a heightened solar activity cycle. Solar flares are a real threat to the satellites (communications) and our power grids. (Watch the special to learn the details) Evidently, solar flare activity is much more of a real-time threat than anything.

Of course, it’s only a threat to those completely dependent on electricity. If you are Amish, or live off the grid, it won’t affect you aside from the crazies that might target you in a national disaster.  A large part of the problem is that our power grids are so interconnected, if one area goes down, it affects far more than just that area (again, watch the History Channel special-it’s been playing on the History Channel often or watch it in it’s entirety at Google Video). I don’t agree or believe most of what was said, but it’s fascinating and will hold your interest-unless you’re prone to fear.

So, what should we learn, or deduce from all this? I came away with these 4 things:

1. We should be right with God – and no one really knows the length of their days.

2. Spend more time living life-enjoying family, or just enjoying each day as a gift. As the saying goes: “Live every day as your last, but plan as if you will live forever”.

More practically:

3. Get off the grid - it would seem a logical endeavor to create more localized power centers. I’ve read about people that have built mini solar and/or wind “power plants” that can power their own house and several others. I’m really ignorant how all that works, but those of you that live in the country and / or live off the land, seem to be on the right track. If you are at least set up to survive without power, (ok, not such an easy undertaking) you have a better chance. At the very least, we should also all be basically prepared for a local disaster. Having 3 months of food and water on hand is just common sense, with all that has happened in the last few years.

And entrepreneurially:

4. Start an emergency preparedness business or blog! You had to know that was coming . . .

What do you think about all this 2012 stuff? Do you do anything to prepare yourself and your family for emergencies? Like what?

Remember, all comments are entered into a monthly drawing for a free book! So I thought I’d give you something to talk about….>>details

My middle son was not interested in anything except soccer during high school, especially not finance.  We were racking our brains to come up with anything he might want to do or have an aptitude in besides soccer. So, purely by chance as a school project, I required that he start a portfolio on Investopedia’s Stock Simulator.  The rest is history. With very little help from us, he found he had a real knack for making money, so much so he was invited to join one of the ‘elite’ groups in the simulator – and was hooked on finance. Six years later, he’s on track to graduate this Spring with a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance. His plan is to enter grad school next fall-same subject. Who’d a thunk?

All that to recommend the source our title, 3 Money Lessons Your Kids Should Know. The quality of financial information on that site is some of the best found online. In this article, the 3 main points are refreshingly unique as opposed to the majority of diluted advice directed to parents for their kid’s money mentoring.

Taking into consideration that teaching guidance principles versus rules works much better and adapts well with the wide variety of circumstances in families.

Here are the three key concepts in a nutshell:

1. Think of money as stored work. Most kids have no concept of money and what it takes to get it. Put it in terms of labor, like, “Would you trade a weekend of work for that toy?”.
2. Money is time. Similar to the concept above, but instead of working with money that has already been earned, you are looking at money that could be earned – or not earned and the results.
3. Money has a life of it’s own. Explaining to your children what money does while it’s just ’sitting around’. Read the article.

If any of this has confused you, that’s good, only because I want you read the entire article and check out the website. I think you’ll be glad you did. Open an Investopedia stock account while you’re there – it’s a good time to start, since most stocks can only go up from here (in theory…). Keep in mind you will be asked to sign up for a myriad of items, none of which are necessary for using the simulator.

Other articles there that might interest you:

5 Money Skills To Teach Your Kids

Talking About Money When Times Are Tough

Help Your Kids Understand Money

9 Green Careers With High Pay