Intentional Living

The Blessings of Home-Based Family Businesses

As I write this I realize I have been around home-based businesses my entire life. My mother had an in-home daycare and my father had a side construction business. I remember being around the daycare kids as I grew up helping my mother. I would help by putting the stamps on the mail when paying bills and as I got older getting the shopping done when I could drive. As for my father, I would help him load tools or materials and when the job was done, help with the cleanup. 

Home-based family businesses are great in the sense that it involves the whole family. I know all too well about the need for everyone to pitch in and lend a hand to help them run smoothly. I live on a farm where we run cattle and grain farm. It truly takes everyone, even the kids, to work together. My kids help out wherever they can such as feeding the bottle calves and riding along in the tractors through planting, harvesting, and haying seasons. Working together with family is rewarding and is great family time. I enjoy the fact that I live on a farm and get to work alongside my husband, kids, and in-laws. There are great lessons a person learns from home-based family businesses. 

Here are a few of the valuable life lessons learned through home-based family business that I have learned through the years:

  1. Never put off things for tomorrow that can be done today. You just never know what tomorrow will bring.
  2. Hard work never hurts anyone, it only builds character.
  3. Patience is a virtue. Things don’t always come easy. You have to put forth the effort to see the reward. 
  4. Commitment. Don’t give up, stay committed to the end. The end result of your hard work is rewarding. 
  5. Communication. In a home-based family business you have to communicate always with everyone to make sure all tasks are getting done. Also communicate with the different customers you may encounter. 
  6. Valuable budgeting skills. Every business big or small has to budget. 

For some of you reading this you can relate because you have a home-based business. Maybe you even have kids who get involved and help when they can. We would love to hear from you about your home-based family businesses and the life lessons you have learned. 

Contributed by Carrie Guthmiller

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