Getting Your Family Involved In Your Home Business

By Craig Binkley
Posted Thursday, September 9, 2004

Do you own your own home business? Is your family involved with your daily business? Yeah, I know at times it seems easier to just do everything yourself. It is an easy trap to get into. Why take the time to explain the job, show them how it should be done, make sure it is done properly, and then possibly have to redo the project if it is not done to your liking? Yes, we have all been through this at some point. The question is: what are you going to do about it?

You basically have two options: Do everything yourself or invest the time to get your family involved. For me, the second one is the ONLY option.

First off, if you are doing everything yourself, you are probably spending a lot more time with your business than with your family. Secondly, you are depriving your spouse and children of the joy of owning a home business.

Why not take some of the burden off of yourself by allowing your family to help you in your daily tasks. Here are a few ideas that you can implement to start getting your family involved.

SPOUSE: If your spouse is not involved with you in your home business you are missing a great opportunity to spend some much needed time with him/her. I know, this may not be everyone's idea of quality time with your beloved, but is it not better than the alternate - you doing your thing and he/she doing theirs? My wife is my biggest supporter. She is the person I bounce ideas off of. She is also my proofreader. If your spouse is not in tune with what you are doing, do what you can to peak their interest and get them involved today.

YOUNG CHILDREN: Obviously there is not much for a toddler to do, but as they grow older you can give them small jobs to start out (dumping your trash can, sharpening your pencils, etc.) and continuing to give them more challenging jobs as they become more mature. No matter what the job, kids feel a sense of pride in knowing they are "pitching in".

TEENAGERS: This is the group you need to get! There are so many things that a teen can get involved with (sports, music, friends, drugs). Wouldn't it be nice if what they are involved with were your business? If you have been giving them jobs as younger children then most likely they are already involved. If you are just getting started with your business and/or getting to those teens, try giving them some things that they might not expect that you would delegate to them (typing a letter or making a call to a supplier to place an order). Let them see that you have the confidence in them and they will respond likewise.

Our teen daughter makes her own jewelry so we decided to make it a part of our business with a section of our website dedicated to her creations only. After seeing this, our oldest son decided he wanted something to do, so he started making wood-burned signs. We added a page for him also. They both are very proud of the fact that the stuff they are making is actually on the web. It has gotten them very interested in what we do as a family business and allows us to get them even more involved as time goes by.

In conclusion, do whatever you can to get your family involved. Not only will it alleviate some of your workload, it can truly draw you family closer together.

About the Author
Craig Binkley, husband and father assisting in the restoration of the "traditional" family through home business ownership. (http://www.bornagainbargains.com)