Should Christian Families Teach Their Daughters Business?

This was a question that I was asked recently by a very Godly mom that is seeking to raise her daughters to be godly helpmeets and keepers at home. And, you can probably guess, my answer was an emphatic “YES!”

Take a look at the Proverbs 31 woman. You knew I was going there, didn’t you? Let’s think about it for a minute. What exactly IS a proverbial “Proverbs 31” woman? For obvious reasons, I won’t go over all the qualities that proverbs 31 describes, there is a great breakdown of this proverb by specific traits on the website, http://www.proverbs31woman.com/. Unfortunately, there is very little mention of the ‘entrepreneurial’ references in that and other proverb 31 centered sites ….like found in verse 16:

“She considers a field and buys it, and from her earnings she plants a vineyard”

I’ve always wanted to do that, buy a piece of land and plant something useful we could sell. What a great homeschool project! OK, that’s beside the point, but the reference to her earnings seems to make it obvious that some trading for profit had to have been done by the Proverbs 31 woman.

Then, verse 18 says,

“She senses that her gain is good, and her lamp does not go out at night” .

I do my best work at night, and I know many, many homeschool moms that do their home business after the kids are in bed-I guess some things never change! However, can you tell me, if girls in God-fearing families didn’t teach their daughters ‘business’, how did she know her gain was good?

Verse 24 is the most obvious reference that a godly woman has entrepreneurial pursuits,

“She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.”

I think this is a fine illustration of the various ways that woman can supplement the household income by running a small home business AND that women have done this for a very, very long time.

Teaching the basics of business to our daughters is a sure way they can judge if “her gain is good”. The biggest reason so many new businesses fail is simply a lack of training. The fallacy that if you have a good enough idea, anyone can start and run a successful business and there is nothing to it, or they can learn as they go, is a recipe for failure. Give your children the basics of business and they will have a priceless advantage for the rest of their life. You never know when you might need it.

Many years ago my husband was ill for over a year and unable to work. Like many homeschooling families, he was the sole bread winner, and with 4 young children an outside job was out of the question. Even though I had been raised by a long line of entrepreneurs, I learned many of the basic lessons the hard way. Don’t assume your children will learn what they need when they need it. While it may happen that way, why not make learning the basics of home business a part of their homeschool? The money they earn could help pay for those expensive lessons they have been wanting, or add to their college funds. Most importantly, it’s a skill they will have the rest of their life.

A wonderful video presentation applying the wisdom of proverbs 31 to today’s woman:

http://proverbs31-woman.com/2008/05/18/proverbs-31-woman-a-presentation/

I would love to hear your thoughts on this! Email me or leave a comment!

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