FamilyEbiz

Greetings from Moscow, Idaho!
This is Stephen Beck with Family Entrepreneurs.
Before we get started:
Our family’s Ebay results (the power in the little things):
Month of November (to date, since the month is not over yet)
Sales Total: $1,409.00
Coming Soon!
We have also just completed an 8 hour workshop on teaching your kids to start their own business. This will include 8 CD’s plus a CD-Rom for the workbook materials. Check it out at our website for future details.

Biblia:

1 Thess 4:10-12
But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

It is very interesting how we moderns look at the gospel. In our modern thinking, if a man is truly sold out to the Lord, he will sell all that he has and take to the road preaching to whomever will hear. He will renounce all worldly ties and goods and boldly preach where no man has preached before. But Paul had a different idea of conquering the world for our Lord Jesus Christ. He realized that for this new and radical gospel to take hold, men and women would need to “flesh” it out in their day-to-day living, namely in their work and in their businesses (Actually, the gospel message was not new. You may want to check out my CD on How Where They Saved In The Old Testament.

These men and women would, in turn, have children who would have to live this gospel out themselves. And that is where the rub comes. It reminds me of the lyrics to an old Motown song:

Ain’t no trick to make love come to you, but it takes magic to make it stay!

For the gospel to be received and passed down from generation to generation, there had to be a firm foundation on which to build. There had to be a permanence to the Christian culture and life that would allow the transmission of a godly heritage. Hence, Paul exhorts everyone not to quit their jobs or shut down their businesses and wait on their roof tops for Jesus’ arrival, but to redouble their efforts and build gospel permanence into everything they laid their hands to. They were to establish a firm cultural foundation for the gospel to rest upon when the message got out and people started responding to the message!

The challenge to the Apostles was not necessarily getting the word out, it was planting it deep enough so that it remained after they were gone. Of course, God is sovereign and He can use any means He pleases to drive His gospel deep into a culture. Yet, God has chosen the small things to bring Him the most glory. He exhorts us to lead a quiet life, to mind our own business and to work with our hands. Not a lot of flashy stuff here. But nothing drives the gospel deeper into a culture than when it is linked to the stuff of everyday life, namely our family customs and businesses. Through these avenues, the gospel works its way like leaven through the lump. Did our Lord not say that the Kingdom of God would be like a mustard seed…starting out small and growing…quietly, almost imperceptibly…until it is the most dominating tree in the landscape? If you have the short view, you will sell all that you have and cast all your pearls before any swine that will hear you. If you have the long term…then build something of value, of permanence…that you can hand to your children’s children. And if that something is a business, Paul says it will be a witness to those on the outside and you will lack nothing.

Practica:

Unless you are selling only downloadable products (and hopefully you are selling some of those), you will need to ship your products to your customers. There are many options to shipping a package, but I will cut through the red tape and tell you what I do. We used to ship a lot of books through UPS (United Parcel Service), but they became so expensive that it wasn’t worth it. So, we decided to ship through the USPS (United States Postal Service), but standing in line every day got old real soon. We looked into postage machines so we could do the postage at home, but you have to ship a lot to make it worth the cost.

Well, Endicia to the rescue! For a flat fee of $5/month, you can ship as many packages as you want and even buy your postage online! You can print the postage labels on regular paper in your printer and then attach the labels with packing tape. It is truly an economical and convenient way to go. However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind:

You need to set the date that you are shipping your package and ship it on that day! If you forget, you can print a correction, but it is kind of a hassle.

You still need to take the packages to the Post Office, but you can use one of their plastic boxes (they will even allow you to take 4 or 5 home) and just drop it off at the counter. Nothing is sweeter than dropping off 20 packages at the counter and waving goodbye (in your mind, of course) to all those people standing in line!

You will need to get extra forms to fill out at home. Some people will want you to insure their package (which is one form) and others will want you to send it out of the country (which is a custom’s form).

If you make a mistake, you can print a new postage label and then file for a postage refund. The refund usually takes about 2 weeks and will be added back to your postage account you have with Endicia.

One of the great things about Endicia is they have a postage log. You can print this out and now you have a record of everyone you mailed a package to, when you mailed it and when it arrived. I recommend always using delivery confirmation. It costs an extra $0.15, but you can tell a customer where their package is at any given point in the process. To find out more click on the link below:

http://endicia.familye-biz.com

Warmly in Christ,

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

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