Teach and Learn Through a Family Business Start-Up
With homeschooling, you can take the entrepreneurial experience to new heights by making it a family affair, providing practical experience in many subject areas for your kids. It will also strengthen family relationships and provide new ways for the whole family to interact with each other.
The great part is, you don’t need to know a thing about building a business or the industry you’re building a business in. You can learn along the way with your children, and your young ones will be able to teach you a thing or two (like I’m sure they already do in some areas). Each family member can have some “department” they oversee. Even those helpful toddlers can get in on the learning, and kids from about 7 years old and up can be active business partners.
Starter Steps for Your Family Business
The obvious first step is to pick a business. There are many options for starting a business with very little to no start-up costs, especially with the online business possibilities. You may also have something that you’ve already been doing and choose to scale up. I’ve been growing microgreens and sprouts for three years and have been inspired to make that our family entrepreneurial experience.
Do some online research using search terms like, “side businesses with low start-up costs,” “home business ideas,” or “easy start-up businesses.” Think about long-term learning opportunities that could potentially be a significant source of household income.
When you’ve got a business idea, or maybe a couple of business ideas, use the Business Model Canvas to get your business structure on paper quick and simple. There is a two-minute video to explain the concept of the canvas, and you can also get the PDF of the Business Model Canvas to get brainstorming with your family on possible start-ups. There is a related animated series, From Business to Idea (created by Strategyzer, the company that created the Business Model Canvas), that will help you and others fill in the sections for this effective planning tool and teach on entrepreneurial skills.
After you’ve found a viable family business venture, you’re in the stage of set-up and sales. There are many resources online to give you more guidance, so get searching and make it a fun family research and development stage of business.
Here are a couple of resources to get you and your kids started on the teach and learn entrepreneurial journey:
An engaging book created just for kids, to inspire and teach them about basic principals of entrepreneurship.
Help Kids be Entrepreneurs – Article at Focus on the Family
This article gives a lot of helpful advice to parents on getting their kids into business. You can also learn about many of the excellent benefits of kids starting and growing a business.
Steph has been building businesses, mostly from home, for over 10 years, motivated by her strong determination that her two youngest boys would be educated at home. Now, she coaches entrepreneurs to start and grow their business from home. She and her family are all comfortably nestled in the trees in Central Ontario. She loves being a home-body and building up her permaculture property. Learn more about Steph at www.creatingworkandplay.com
