Open a Business with your Children

One of the biggest reasons that people start a home-based business (or their own business in general) is that they want to have more time to spend with their children. Working from home or from a business that allows them a flexible schedule sounds ideal because it affords the opportunity to stay home during the day with the kids or to take the kids to the new office. However, many people who start a business soon found out that they have even less time for their children than ever before. Sure, they're home with the kids but they have to work so many hours to keep the business afloat that it feels like they never spend time with the kids after all, especially not quality time.

One solution if you find yourself dealing with this kind of problem is to open a business with your children. This can give you the chance to spend significant amounts of time with them while they are young. And when you open a business with your children, you have a lot of opportunities to teach them life skills relating to finance, business ownership, marketing and balancing family and work. You will be enjoying the benefits in the short term because you can spend time with the kids and long term because you'll be creating a family business that perhaps they can take over or expand one day.

Here are some ideas of businesses that you can open with your children:

• Home daycare. This is the ideal business for many people who want to stay at home with the kids and still make some money. You can be the full time childcare provider for your own children while also helping out other working parents and simultaneously earning money. You can take kids of all ages or just kids that are around the same age as your own children, giving them social benefits as well as the other benefits of opening a business together.
• Pet daycare or dog-walking business. Any home-based business with animals will give your children a number of benefits. There are plenty of things that they'll be able to help with - walking the dogs, feeding the cats - which will help them learn responsibility and really feel like a part of the family business.
• Cookie business or other catering / culinary business. Of course, your children won't be able to help out in all parts of this business but they can certainly have fun assisting you with things like mixing ingredients. This teaches your children many skills including math (measuring amounts), reading (recipes) and the basic skill of baking or cooking. Plus, licking the bowl will be a part of the business day!
• Greeting card business. Children love to draw. How excited would they be if their designs were sold on greeting cards as part of the family business?! If you allow yourself to stretch your imagination and believe that your kids can be an integral part of a creative business like this, the possibilities are virtually endless.