FamilyEbiz

Before we get started:
I will start posting our family’s Ebay results. This is not to boast. It is to show you the power in the little things.

Month of July
Listed: 152 items
Sold: 101 items
None of the items sold for more than $42 except one item for $99.
Total: $1,063.00

A word of gentle encouragement: Most of my newsletters do not step on your toes as much as this one. So, if this is your first newsletter from me…my apologies. Please read the past ones as well as a few of the future ones if you are inclined to unsubscribe.

Biblia:

Prov 14:4
Where no oxen are, the trough is clean;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

At the risk of offending some of you, I am going to tell it like it is! If you do not want poop in your stall, then do not get an ox. But, do not expect to get much done without one! This is a timeless principle from the wisest man who ever lived and he got it from the Lord of Hosts. I can not tell you how many homeschooling parents have come to me expressing a desire that their children learn to start a business. They want their children to have the freedom and financial gain that comes from being self-employed and are constantly searching for books or seminars to teach their little ones to one day have their own business.

Well I have a newsflash for you…unless you are willing to roll up your sleeves and do it with them, the chances are very slim they will ever succeed in having their own business. Why should they put forth the effort when Mom and Dad are too lazy to show the example? What incentive is there to start a business, when Mom and Dad are unwilling to put forth the effort required to get them started? If you were unwilling to start your own business at age 15, why should they be any different?

We are often willing to take our children to baseball practice, piano lessons, art lessons, bible study, dance, co-ops…the list goes on and on. Yet, many of us are unwilling to lift a finger to take advantage of business opportunities for our kids. Is there a carpenter in town willing to allow your son to help him? Is there a stable close by that doesn’t mind if your responsible home-schooler helps clean stalls twice a week? If there a book store nearby that your child could spend two afternoons a week cataloging books or stocking shelves? And is your child willing to work for free to gain the experience necessary to start a future business? Is he teachable? Have you raised them well enough that they would actually be an asset to a business owner instead of being another whining employee that has to be asked three times to do something they would rather not do.

Now, all of this has a point. I have shown you how to find a hosting company, how to generate a web page and even where to go to find products to sell on your new web page…have you done any of it yet? I have also shown you how to sell things on Ebay…have you downloaded turbo lister and listed 10 things this week? You see, everyone wants to start off big.

“Ebay just isn’t worth it!”, moans the homeschool Mom. “I can’t find anything I want to sell. And besides, it takes too much time”, whines the homeschool Dad. I agree that it takes a while to get started, and that it may not replace your income the first year, but you have to start somewhere! Are you teaching your kids to be faithful in the little things or are they learning from your example to only expect homeruns…that it has to be perfect or they will not pursue it? You have heard that lucky businessmen make their own luck and there is a lot of truth to that. They spend a lifetime acquiring knowledge and skill so that when a great opportunity presents itself, they can recognize it and have the resources to do something about it. Very, very few businessmen/entrepreneurs finish their careers doing the same thing they started with earlier. Most of them started something, made a little money and used that money to find something that interested them more. They also made their big mistakes when the stakes were not so high. So, help your kids start something small like Ebay or selling an affiliate program on a website. Then, they can gradually step into larger, more profitable ventures.

Homeschool parents are the worst at letting opportunities pass by for the sake of the almighty schedule. Does your teenage son have an interest in photography? Then do whatever it takes to allow him to work a few afternoons for a local photographer. “But, we do math in the afternoon. It will ruin my schedule.” So what! One of the reasons we homeschool is to have the flexibility to take advantage of situations like these. He can do his work in the evening on those days he is working for the photographer and I dare say it will be better for him than those computer games…er, I mean “educational” computer programs that you allow him to play at night.

While I am on the subject, your kids will enjoy having their own business for the first two weeks. Then they will get bored and whine and complain like most American kids. And this will be a turning point in their lives. Will you be strong and make them finish what they start? Will you work side by side with them until they see the fruit of their labors? Making kids finish what they start is flat hard work. Teaching them to have patience and to wait on God is incredibly difficult. But is this not why you started homeschooling in the first place? Are you not training this nation’s future leaders? Then, bear down, realizing it will cut into your own personal time, and teach your children to start their own business by example. It will be a gift they will take with them the rest of their lives.

Practica:

Here is a short, but potent suggestion. Go to the Family E-Biz Expo...a 2 day seminar designed to teach you and your family how to start business on the internet. We are putting together an outstanding conference that will help you think outside the box and give you details on how to go beyond just paying the bills as well as breaking that slave to your job mentality.

Why would anyone want to spend the time and hard-earned money to attend a seminar about ways to start your own business? I can’t speak for you, but my motivation is to rule and reign for the Lord Jesus Christ. It is very hard to rise above the current culture and have a significant impact upon it when we are struggling to make ends meet because that culture has dictated to us what we can and can’t do. When we work for an unbelieving community, we have to play by their rules and do things their way. But, if we start our own business (part-time at first) and run it by biblical principles, over time we will find ourselves less and less pressured in how to live and work and raise our children. We will begin to have the freedom to serve God and not a bureaucratic system run by unbelievers.

Who Should Come?

Anyone interested in learning more about starting their own business. I would highly recommend dads and if you can swing it, bring your wife along. You will get a lot farther down the road, when you are both on board. Also, don’t forget your older kids. Why not pass the entrepreneur fever to them? They are young enough and have fewer distractions to really put it into action. Imagine, knowing how to start your own business before you are married, have a mortgage and a full-time job! What an advantage!!! And they will be the future rulers for Christ.

A Reluctant Attendee

I have to admit it. When Kerry approached me about flying to Orlando, Florida to go to an internet marketing seminar last year, I was more than a little skeptical. I did not have the time, I did not have a burning interest and I did not want to spend the money. As you may know, we have shut our construction company down and are getting ready to attend seminary in August. However, I do have an interest in website design and maintenance, so I thought I might glean a few nuggets at the seminar.

Little did I know that I would gain a lot more. Actually, I should have known the power of seminars from my construction days. Remodeling conferences changed the entire way I worked and increased our income three-fold. It was not overnight, but I went from a guy working out of the back of his pickup truck to the president of a company with half a million in sales in about 2-3 years. Then, more seminars helped me go farther than that.

All of this to say that education works! But not just any education. I am talking about specialized education from men and women who are actually doing what they are teaching and are being successful with it (unlike college or community courses). Now you have an opportunity to get some of that specialized education.

A Nugget I Gleaned - especially for PUBLISHERS!

Let me give you a scenario that I picked up at an internet conference in Orlando, Florida. How would you like to write a book that you have already determined there is a market for and your customers have told you what they want in the book? Well, you can put up a one-page website telling people that you are writing a book and if they will tell you what they need to know about that particular topic, you will send them a free copy of the new Ebook. You get about 100 responses (that is nothing on the internet) and you now have an outline of a very targeted book discussing exactly what people are interested in about that subject. You then put up another web page, use a few keywords and some Google Adwords and then start selling your Ebook for $29 that cost you nothing to produce. You could even do a few teleconferences promoting the book and then sell the tapes (CD’s) of those.

This is just one scenario. I think you see the power of the internet. One Ebook may not make you rich, but it is a way to have residual income. Income that comes in whether you are there or not. Put a few Ebooks together and you may have a part time income that does not require much time (after they are completed).

I Hate Hype

By the way, I am NOT a success guru fan. I hate hype. I hate stuff like:

THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE AND YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO GET DRESSED AND SEE ANYONE EVER AGAIN!!!

Give me a break! But, we in the homeschool community have not been as wise as the world. We must look for ways to make ourselves and our children free to pursue their calling and not just be servants to the unbelieving community. But, this will only happen through educating ourselves in the biblical means to provide for ourselves and then, we will ultimately influence the culture around us. The Family E-Biz Expo is a good first step for this.

CONCLUSION

We will not rule and reign for Jesus Christ by sitting on our hands. You must first deepen your walk with God and be totally saturated by his Word. But, you must also understand financial matters and learn to use them in a godly way. This conference will be a great first step toward that goal. I hope to see you there.

Warmly in Christ,

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

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