New Venture Lab: Equipping Christian Entrepreneurs

What happens when a father sits his family down and lays out a vision for entrepreneurship?  When one father I know did this with his family several months ago, the results were dramatic.

First, the vision was simple: he encouraged the family to think and pray about how they could contribute to the family economy by using their God-given skills and talents.

Second, the strategy was simple: work from the family home, encourage each other and find some initial customers that will pay you for whatever you can do.

Within a short period of time everyone in the family had a business and was having fun learning, creating and making money.  On a recent visit the family was literally abuzz with activity and enthusiasm for their various projects.

The father kept his day job as a college professor and was the main encourager of the family enterprises.  The mother was creating books on tape, using her talented voice to record books as she read.  The oldest son launched a recruiting business and hired the oldest daughter to help.  Another daughter took up animal art and sold her expensive creations to high-end clientele.  The youngest daughter decided to sew clothes for little girls and their dolls.  And finally, the three youngest boys in the family started up a lawn mowing business to cut lawns in their neighborhood.  You can read more about the entrepreneurial adventures of the three youngest boys here in our Profiles section.

So fathers, if you cannot image quitting your day job, consider encouraging your family by creating a platform for them to stretch themselves and test their creativity with their own ventures in the safety of your own home and under your tender care and direction.  They just might surprise you.