It’s summertime! Well, almost (I’m trying to think ahead more). The majority of schools are finished for the year, and if your homeschool is anything like ours, the fizzle began the first nice spring day we had. In our house, as soon as it starts getting nice outside, it gets more and more difficult to finish up those last few months of schoolwork. Anyone else have that problem?

One way we tackled the end of the year ‘drudges’ was to start planning our summer projects. You may think that would intensify the problem, but actually, it became the carrot at the end of the stick! Of course, we’re all familiar with the next stage that comes about 2-3 weeks after school is done, and that’s the ‘I’m bored’ phase.

Helping your teen start a small business over the summer can solve both of these problems. In theory, now that school is finished for the year, you finally have the extra time (extra? funny, I know…) to do something about that great idea your teen has been mulling over. It can also help pay for all those expensive summertime activities the kids are already asking for. We only have 4 kids, which in homeschool-land is not many, but when you multiply anything by 6 (4 kids + 2 parents), just going to McDonald’s can be expensive!

Summer is the perfect time to grow and sell things, shop yard sales for treasures to resell, have your own yard sale, help vacationing neighbors care for their yards and pets, all while solving the money crunch and keeping boredom complaints at bay. Transforming what is often dreaded extra work for pocket money into a small business can be fun and exciting summertime boredom busters.

Here’s just a few ideas to get those entrepreneurial gears rolling:

• Good ole Lemonade Stands! (Branch out in what you offer with the lemonade. One young lady sold her homemade jewelry alongside her natural lemonade and did very well.)
• Yard Sales-your own, or organize them for others.
• Garage Cleaner/Organizer
• Elderly Care
• Lawn Care
• Garden Care
• Grow/Sell Cut Flowers or Herbs
• Babysit, or start a Babysitting Service*
• Pet Sitting, Grooming, Walking
• Make/Sell Natural Pet Treats
• Mother’s Helper Services
• Recycle Coordinator
• Make/Sell Baked Goods

Trying to keep the learning in summer earning is especially difficult, I think because mentally we ‘clock out’ of school mode during the summer. Realizing everyone needs a break from school at some point, the key is to keep it simple. The most important activity to remember is to keep good records. A fun free tool you can create from an online template can be found at: http://www.pocketmod.com/. Customize it to your business and it can be carried in your back pocket with one of those little golf pencils to record details easily forgotten later.

Be sure to at least designate a place (a shoebox does nicely) to keep all receipts, notes, addresses to organize later. Ideally, starting a spiral notebook or a 3 ring binder with some dividers and a few envelopes for receipts is perfect. Keep a daily journal of activities in your business, writing down everything from money spent AND received and what it was for to customer contacts and ‘light-bulb’ ideas you don’t want to forget. Include in the notes customer contacts and addresses, new ideas, comments, complaints from customers, agreements made (like they promised to call someone back, or to mow their lawn next Thursday, etc) and supplies needed. Naturally, this will vary depending on what business you are operating.

Rainy days are perfect for organizing all this information into learning mode, making business cards and flyers, and reorganizing. You may need to help them create their notebook, resolve complaints, and come up with new ideas, but encourage them to do as much as they can on their own. Be enthusiastic about their ideas, helping them “think of it” themselves or to think through an unrealistic idea. You never know, what might seem like a not-so-great idea, might make a big hit. Remember Pet Rocks?

Last, but not least, insist on maintaining impeccable integrity including being thankful and giving back. Encourage them to think of a way to thank their customers for their business, immediately after the sale and/or months later. Help them think of ways to give back, in addition to their tithing. Some examples might be giving free or discounted service to those in need, or taking extra flowers or bread to a nursing home.

Attitude is everything. Enjoying work and appreciating their customers is a mindset, and is usually taught….or caught. Many a time my eyes were opened to a blind spot of my own while correcting an attitude that was merely being reflected in one of my now-grown children. ….but that’s another blog.

Enjoy your summer, AND your children! They grow up fast.

Bob & Debbie Maubach live in middle T and have been homeschooling for 20 years. With three of four of their ‘entrepreneurs’ graduated (all homeschooled, of course!), they are now spending more time helping other homeschoolers make home business a fun and profitable part of their homeschool. You can read more about them at their website, www.Homeschool-Entrepreneur.com.