Part of being a parent is teaching our kids to one day be indepen- dent. As homeschooling par- ents, one of the things we teach
our children is the proper use of money.
Usually, early in their schooling, we teach
our children to count money. Later on,
probably in high school, we teach them
about balancing checkbooks.
But what about the basics of running
a business? It is never a bad idea to teach
children how to run a business. This gives
you an opportunity to teach them about
profit and loss, as well as giving them an
opportunity to earn a little cash. Believe
me, they will like that part!
Entrepreneurs are important to our
society. These people are leaders in their
communities; they are usually creative
and independent; they know how to com-
municate with others (through email, face
to face, in letters, etc.); and they have a
tendency to give back to the communities
in which they live. I think all parents
would be proud of children like this.
Teaching children about running
a business allows you to take their
strengths, hobbies, and more, and use
them for a greater purpose. This will
give them hands-on experience that is
so valuable. More and more people are
going into business for themselves, and
knowing how to handle money in business is extremely important.
One year my boss allowed my children
to use the vending machine at work to fill
with their products and make their own
money for a few months. They didn’t
earn a ton, but they did earn enough to
buy Christmas presents for family members using their own money, and even
had some left over for themselves! It was
a great teaching opportunity. If this is
something you decide to do with your
children, you can do it for a short time or
as a long-term project.
Make sure when teaching your child to
run a business that you include a few key
points.
Investment: This is the amount of
money that is put out, maybe even by you
at the beginning, to help get the business
off the ground. This includes purchasing
product, materials, fees, or whatever else
is needed to get started.
Paying bills: Even in a home business
there are bills, such as paying you back
for the initial investment, or paying employees. When money starts coming in,
the first thing your child needs to do is
make sure that all bills are paid.
Profit: This is the money that is left over
after all the bills are paid. Now this does
not mean that all of this money should im-
mediately be spent on whatever the child
wants. They must decide if they want to
continue the business. If they do, money
should be set aside for the purchase of
more materials for new products. You
www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
by Ruth O’Neil
Making
Entrepreneurs
of Your
Homeschoolers
Teaching children about running a business allows you to take their
strengths, hobbies, and more, and use them for a greater purpose.
