FamilyEbiz

Proverbs 31:10-31
Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
She considers a field and buys it;
From her profits she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.
She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all."
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.

In Proverbs 31, we have a woman who manages her household so well that her home can not contain her industry. Her family comes first, but she look what else is happening:

She considers a field and buys it…vs. 15

She is no stranger to financial matters. She knows how to count the cost so that she comes out ahead.

She invests the profits from her land transaction…vs. 16

She does not foolishly spend her profits. She invests them wisely so that the whole household benefits.

She extends her hand to the poor…vs. 20

She gives because she can afford to. She is not burdened by excessive debt nor is she relying on others for her basic needs.

She has a godly confidence in her ability to provide when times get tough…vs. 21

She is a merchant out of her home…vs. 24

One assumes that the garments and sashes she sells are well-crafted and bring top dollar in the market place.

Her children call her blessed and her husband praises her…vs. 28

All praise her in the gates (and we are still praising her to this day)…vs. 31

This woman has leveraged a small home business into a wonderful blessing for her family, her community and countless people who have read her story and followed her example. She is impacting her culture in a godly way, even to this day. Oh, that more would follow her example.

Practica:

Now for the next tip. One of the questions I am asked most is how to get started. Last time, we covered how to determine if there is a market for what you intend to sell on the internet. For further market research you check out the 50 top searches last month at this website, http://50.lycos.com/

This time, we will cover how to set up a site so you can put your market research to good use!

First, you need to get a domain name. This is the name that you will call your website and will help others locate you. It should have something to do with your company and it needs to be short. If you are a dog kennel you may want to use labpups.com or in our case, curriculumconnection.net . You can check the availability of a domain name at any number of websites. Just do a search on “domain names” on Google.com and you will find plenty of companies who will check a name for you. http://www.register.com/ will even give you alternative suggestions in case your name has been taken. Try to get the extension “.com” or at least “.net”…it will make you appear more business-like.

After you find a domain name, you will need to register it, which will usually cost you about $15/year. This keeps anyone else from using that name. My suggestion is that you register it with the company that will be hosting your website. Which brings me to the next step…getting a host. There are as many hosting companies with as many different plans as you can imagine. I suggest you try Green Olive Tree Hosting (http://www.got-hosting.com/). The owner, Jon Berry, is a Christian and is really open to working with homeschoolers. The best part is that he is great with service. Setting up your hosting can be tricky and he will spend as much time on the phone as you need (trust me, I know!). With most other companies, getting someone on the phone is a real trick!

Also, he has some of the best prices I have ever seen. All you will need as a beginner for $50/year! Plus, he has advanced tools included in the price that I am just beginning to use. If you do use him, I would appreciate you telling him I sent you. He has a comments section in his sign-up, so you can drop my name there.

Once you get a domain name and set up your hosting (which will take about 10 minutes), you need to build a webpage. But, alas, that is a topic for next time. I will discuss the advantages of straight HTML, Front Page, Dreamweaver and those template driven webpage makers that you see around as well.

Warmly in Christ,

Stephen Beck
www.familyebiz.com
www.curriculumconnection.net
email: steve@familyebiz.com

Click Here for Tip #3