Learning Business

We have been teaching our kids business. Most school teachers like to interest the kids or at least let them know there is a potential use for this info (whatever it is, such as math or history) in their future employment at their job.

We assume our kids will see that a job is nice, but your employer has too much control over your life and the quality of that life. And so many people think self-employment is risky!

Everything we teach at our homeschool is presented in the context of business, not necessarily working to build someone else’s business.

So our kids learn what profit is and they learn to analyze business activities to determine if they are worthwhile. Not just in terms of profit, but in the area of human compassion and help.

They learn to value and protect an idea, because they know ideas are the raw material from which reality is made.

I am teaching my kids that people are more important than money. Maybe if business owners put some soul into their business activities, we can make the world a better place instead of just taking resources.

So many people seem to think that life is a contest to see who can personally command the most resources. If you can control so much resources that other people have to do without, then you are a success! I have a list of items that I wrote during the economic collapse of 2008. I have been sharing these ideas with my kids and I will share them below. I have been looking for an opportunity to publicize these ideas, and since i have been sharing them with my children, this is the forum for my Namaste Economics lesson.

Business people: Reduce costs, but avoid laying off employees as knee-jerk reaction.

Anyone can cut costs by slashing payroll, but if you think about it, your business is hurting because of a depressed economy. Layoffs make it worse. Like throwing gasoline on the fire. Try to keep your people working, but let them know they need to appreciate their job and work with you to be profitable. This is the time to be honest with your employees. If you are raking in profit and lay off workers so you can enjoy even more profits, you are a greedy scum and deserve to go our of business. Let employees know your financial situation and let them know you care about them and their families. Share the work and keep everyone working. This--not a government stimulus--will trickle down to the economy.


Go for free advertising. Do the Wave. Get a mascot. Use signs. Increased open hours. Friendly service and phone conversations.

Create added value-- Web site. Give your customers freebies. Free information keeps people coming back until they are ready to spend money at your establishment.


Workers: be honest. Dishonesty is grounds for termination. All other things equal, character will win the day.

Be early and not late. Let your boss know you like your job. Do not complain. Look for opportunities to make your boss more money. Your job is contingent on the profitability of the company, so look at things from management perspective and be flexible.
If you just want money for yourself and complain about the boss and policies, you will be a liability to the company. If you are flexible and let your boss know you are available to do whatever it takes to keep the business in profit, you will be an indispensable asset.


The fact is, everybody's time just became worth less. So everyone must be willing to work harder and longer to survive the quicksand economy. Teach this to your kids. High school kids will be hard pressed to find work because retirees are not leaving their jobs 'cause they lost their retirement savings. Teach them work ethic and other good character.

That concludes the notes I wrote in late 2008. Since then, I have put these things into practice, both as a business owner and as an employee at my wedding job. Both opportunities have proved the validity of my advice.

We did a website for driver ed that started as community service and ended up extremely profitable and also makes us very visible and credible. This post is about our homeschool. This is what my kids are learning from their parents. As I have said before:

To those who think I am doing my kids a disservice because they need a “schooling” experience to learn how to get a job and keep one, I respond that we will be OK; your kids can work for mine. At least if they do, they will be working for a fair and moral employer.

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We have decided to start this journal to keep track of our children's life lessons learned in our homeschool journey. We believe that as parents we are accountable for our own children's education. It is up to us to make sure we prepare them to be active and responsible citizens, not a drain on society. So this blog will be a place where we can share our daily lessons and activities that we incorporate into our homeschool.


About Me

Colleen
Mother to 9 children, 5 on earth and 4 in heaven.
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Christian Unschoolers
Unschooling is learning as you live life. All of life involves learning. This is what we "teach" our children.

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