Homeschool Entrepreneur » homeschool

Motivate The Public Speaker in Your Teen

Deb — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:48:49 +0000

I had never heard of Josh Ship before today and I’m guessing you haven’t either. He has so much to say to teens, and I thought this video would give you a good picture of who he is. Learning to speak to crowds is a critical skill for any entrepreneur-but I’m painfully aware of how many teens shut down if the subject is even mentioned. Let them watch this video and maybe explore a few others with your teens and you might see the door open just a crack. We’ll try to cover this subject more in another post.

Be Inspired, Entrepreneurs

Deb — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:46:29 +0000

For those of you who have not seen this video on our website, yet, enjoy.

If you know a homeschool family that could help up create a video like this for homeschool entrepreneurs, please contact me at deb@homeschoolent.com. Thanks!

**FYI-we are NOT selling the product they mention at the end, it’s just the most inspirational video for entrepreneurs I have ever seen. I promise, there are NO affiliate links…(except the company’s own. )

Thanks!

____

A great gift idea:

10 Ways To Survive The Family Business

Deb — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 20:12:04 +0000

The family business. Has somewhat of a ring to it, doesn’t it? I don’t mean the ‘ding’ you hear at a boxing match, either. It’s a dream of 82% of Americans to have their own business. It usually includes the hope of at least one other family member being a part of it, too. However, the reality of the day to day life can be a rude awakening and can surface personality traits we didn’t know we had!

If you homeschool then you already have some good experience with working together as a family. I’ve heard parents say they don’t homeschool because they would kill each other. I’m sure we all have our moments, but I think I can speak for most homeschoolers when I say we generally enjoy being with our children. I’m not saying if you don’t homeschool you don’t enjoy your children, but it’s already a natural part of our day, so working a business together as a family would seem to be a natural transition. So you would think.

Maybe it’s the time pressure that business can bring, or it could be the money thing, or a host of other excuses. There is no question that working a business with children can be frustrating. There. I said it. I know that there are many character building lessons for children that can be developed when you work a business with them, but I think it’s more a refining device for us. So, keeping in mind our children are really just on loan to us from the Lord, training them also trains us.

I guess it all boils down to loving one another more than ourselves. It may be very difficult and hard work, but the rewards far exceed any monetary gain. It may also be a way to pay off some debt or take that family mission trip or vacation. Whatever your motivation, here are some ways to survive the “Family Business”:

1. The purpose-filled life business. If you don’t already have a business, try to choose a business that helps others, one that gives your family a sense of purpose. This may sound idealistic, but I’m convinced that if you sit down as a family and pray about something you can all do to serve others you’re sure to come up with something. It may not make you rich, but if it’s a need in the marketplace, there will be business. Resist the urge to give your services away, unless of course your family can afford it. You are thinking of an entrepreneurial venture that does good, not a ministry (at least right now).

2. Assign work according to ability. Sit down together and list all the tasks that need to be done and what abilities or talents are needed to accomplish them. Then discuss what talents and abilities each family member has. Make a list of the positive qualities each member has and be generous with the adjectives. Keep it positive. Let each family member add their own weaknesses and/or tasks they absolutely detest. Do not mention anyone else’s weaknesses except your own to keep the peace. Make encouragement the rule. Oh, one more: remember that children are children – not miniature adults.

3. Respect each other. When you live with each other 24/7, it’s easy to get too comfortable with each other. It’s not hard to be courteous to people at church that you hardly know, but will find it easy to be abrupt with those you love most. Respect is a good habit to develop if you haven’t already.

Don't forget to take much needed breaks!

4. Pay children for the work they do. If you get paid, they should be paid if they contributed. Taking children for granted when you work at home is one of the reasons many adults who grew up in a family business want nothing to do with it. If they kept the baby happy and the house clean so you were able to work, there should be some reward. Yes, families help each other out, but if there is a business involved, a worker deserves their wages. Payments should be made in a timely manner and not be withheld for reasons not related to the work. Hope deferred makes a heart sick…

5. Delegate a portion of your family income for something special. It may be a charity or mission that is dear to your heart, or maybe a mission trip for your entire family. You could use it as your field trip fund to go places ordinarily out of your price range or a special vacation. I’m sure you can think of something!

6. Have a set time that your business is ‘closed’. It’s too easy to work 24 hours a day when you work at home. When you work for yourself, the work is never done. Your children will soon resent the family business if it always consumes your attention. Have at least one night a week as “Family Night” and make it special. If you have several children, make a point to have regular one on one, or one with Mom AND Dad’s sole attention.

7. Set frequent goals with rewards they can look forward to. Going out for pizza after a job everyone worked hard doing for weeks makes finishing it a celebration.

8. Try to keep things light and joyful. If the atmosphere has been stressed, or everyone is getting tired and cranky but there is work still to be done, take an energy break. Set the timer for 15-30 minutes and have a nutritious snack do the opposite of what you have been doing. In other words, if you have been sitting doing a repetitious job, get up and take a walk, or go shoot some baskets or just have fun for a few. If you have been up and around working physically, have everyone get comfortable and rest for a few and encourage each other with what they are all doing right. Put some praise music on if you just can’t take a break.

9. Invest in your workspace. Again, keeping your work area light and joyful, bright and clean organized. It pays for itself when the work area is pleasant. If you are on your feet a lot, there are special mats you can buy that cushion your stance. There are shoes that are better for your feet that you can buy. A stereo and some good worship music can make all the difference, too. Keeping things organized sometimes only takes a set of drawers or a new cabinet. Headphones that WORK are nice if you are one the phone much.

10. Accept each other for who they are, and know there will be times everyone will not get along. Make it a family and business rule to never let the sun go down on a disagreement. Parents set the example here. Try to make it a habit to begin and/or end each day with a brief time of prayer for each other. Not a prayer for the business, or more customers, or that the equipment will hold up, but for each other. It’s hard to stay mad at someone you pray for daily.

If you homeschool then you probably already have a list of your own that keeps things running smoothly. Adding a business to the mix can really bring out the best…and the worst… in all of us. That’s our human condition. It’s how we handle it that are the lessons we are really teaching our children.

Some other resources to help you on your journey:

Mom Advice encourages parents that they can indeed homeschool and run a home business, but not with out organizational skills. She gives some advice in her article, Homeschooling and Home Business, and offers some tangible tools including a printable planner and other downloads you can use (free) at: http://www.momadvice.com/resources/downloads.aspx

Entrepreneur.com offers an article, Running a Successful Family Business From Home that tells us 6 ways that 5 family businesses have made it work.

Are You Teaching This Life Skill?

Deb — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 04:46:28 +0000

Recently I read an article on The Open Forum, 101 Tips from Small Business Bloggers and was particularly impressed with a quote from Seth Godin:

“Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead. It’s uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers. It’s uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail. It’s uncomfortable to challenge the status quo. It’s uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle. If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.”
— Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog

I got to thinking, are we teaching our teens leadership as part of their homeschool? As a part of teaching the entrepreneurial mindset, there are few traits more important than leadership.

According to this definition, if our children are comfortable with being uncomfortable, or at least understand that it’s normal to feel that way in leadership situations, then they will also have the tools to continue to stand for what they believe, long after they’ve left the nest.

Its so easy to get focused on learning all the facts and figures that brings those surreal ACT and SAT scores home, but do they have what it takes to succeed…on their own terms? Or will they end up doing what ever is necessary in life under the popular ‘feel-good’ theology of the day? Hopefully not, but as a parent of 3 grown children, hindsight is definitely best sight. There are so many situations that have presented themselves that this momma thinks, ‘we never talked about that…what if…” that it’s easy to see what I missed – after the fact. Thankfully with my children, so far- so good, and arguably a solid foundation tends to cover a lot of territory, but sometimes the winds blow hard, and really tries those weak spots!

Teaching leadership as a part of your homeschool may not be something you’ve thought of, or maybe you have. It is so much more than simply a good business skill. The ability to take the reins in a situation that requires them to step out of their comfort zone isn’t easy. If they know ahead of time that those uneasy feelings are perfectly normal, and have had the opportunity to practice, even once, to experience the deep satisfaction that comes from pushing through, then they are much more likely to try it again. In this generation that has been raised by the radical baby boomers, chances are there will always be someone else willing to step up, but not always with the desired outcome.

As a part of teaching the entrepreneurial mindset, keep it in the back of your mind to recognize that life event that could provide them with a chance to push through uncomfortable feelings and step up to a challenge that will stretch them. They may need a great deal of encouragement and you may even need to push them, just don’t push them down. If they aren’t ready yet, there will be another time, I guarantee it. Life tends to present more ways to move outside of our comfort zones than we would like!

One way to create an opportunity is to enroll in a Toastmaster’s class for teens. Several years ago my daughter had the opportunity to be in such a situation, and it was great. Communicators for Christ is very similar, and can be found in most areas. However, since some of the best leadership opportunities for a Christian often involves a group of non-Christians, Toastmasters is a good testing ground.

Anyone else know of a situation that taught their teen how to push past those uncomfortable feelings into a leadership role? How did it turn out? What would you have done different?

Helping Your Teen Start Their Own Business

Deb — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:51:55 +0000

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!

till tomorrow…Debbie

Why You Need This Blog…or Welcome!

Deb — Sat, 24 May 2008 02:42:30 +0000

This is your traditional ‘Welcome to my blog’ first post. The first post is always the hardest, maybe because it’s difficult to choose a starting point, but I have a feeling that I won’t be at a loss for words.

All great beginnings start with a vision, and I would like to share mine with you. Homeschooling has changed a lot since 1989 when we first started homeschooling our 11 year old daughter. Actually, we tried to start in 1983 when Rachael’s kindergarten teacher (Calvary Christian Academy in Denver, CO) told us that due to her ‘precociousness’, she would do much better in a home school situation! I really wasn’t sure how to take that, but being somewhat of a 60’s throwback turned newborn Christian, I found the unconventional idea of homeschooling intriguing. However, at the time we were “professional” foster parents for an unwed mothers home and the administrators of the program did NOT like the idea at all. I guess they thought the young mothers might want to try it themselves or something.

Homeschooling is so much more accessible now, with abundant support available in almost every capacity, more curriculum choices than we know what to do with and last, but certainly NOT least-the internet! You could almost design an entire curriculum from online resources alone.

The One Thing That Hasn’t Changed in 20 Years

Aside from all the wonderful changes that the early homeschoolers didn’t have, there is one thing that hasn’t changed at all. The homeschool family’s finances, or lack thereof. It is a rare family that successfully homeschools without one parent staying home full time with the children. Homeschooling is definitely a full time job!

Unfortunately, the US economy is geared around a two income household, which makes surviving on one income very difficult for the majority. Not that it can’t be done, and done well, I personally know many parents, even single mothers that have taken up the challenge enthusiastically and with great success, but I know more families that struggle with it every single day.

We were one of those families that struggled financially with trying to live on one income, and began to explore solutions in a variety of home business endeavors. Finding good ideas and resources were scarce and scam awareness was not yet in my biological data base. As a result, over the last 20 years I have researched 100’s, if not over a thousand various ways a homeschool family can make money and maintain a respectable, thriving homeschool at the same time.

In a conversation one day with one of my dearest friends, we were talking about an article on “How to Choose Your Perfect Business” and one of the questions was, “What do you know the most about?” While I was musing over the last 20 years of homeschooling, playing ’soccer mom’ and all the other mini businesses that I had run, my friend pops up with my long sought answer: “Your perfect business is finding home businesses for others!”

She was right, I was always coming up with new ideas, or new takes on old ideas, and actually, was probably almost annoying….OK, moderately annoying… at my constant obsession with finding another “new” idea that could solve someone’s financial woes. All this was starting to make sense and I finally began to see how God might be able to use those countless hours searching every knowledge source I could lay my hands on to help others.

All that to say is my vision for this blog is to put in print all the possible ideas and resources for homeschool families to make money at home while still keeping up with the kids’ home school. Part of the solution also lies in teaching your kids to start their own business and make it part of their everyday school. I’ve even developed what others call my “Goodwill Project” and have a website that has all the resources you need to make home business a part of your homeschool. I would love to have you stop by HomeSchool-Entrepreneur.com sometime and say ‘hi!’.

Meanwhile, I would love your feedback and look forward to serving you. And maybe you’ll even stumble across that life-changing idea for your perfect home business!

Homeschool Entrepreneur » homeschool

Motivate The Public Speaker in Your Teen

More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur

Be Inspired, Entrepreneurs

More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur

10 Ways To Survive The Family Business

More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur

Are You Teaching This Life Skill?

More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur

Helping Your Teen Start Their Own Business

More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur

Why You Need This Blog…or Welcome!

More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur