Sep. 25, 2006 - Don't Give Up Home Schooling

Since 1985, I worked from home running a day care. Then around 1986 I started selling Discovery Toys. I had various jobs I wanted to do between 1985 & 1992. However, in 1992 I found my main purpose and job. It was to home school my children. I enjoyed it so much and the kids enjoyed it too.

After a couple of moves, my oldest asked to go to school. Since we moved and were given the great lie that the school we were moving near was top 100 in the state (NOT!) we gave it a try. When that didn't work, I was told to send the kids to the local Christian school where many of my church members were teachers. I tried that and it was as bad as the public school. IN FACT, the second grade teacher never noticed that my son needed glasses. All of the children in his class had glasses for reading. He was a highly proficient reader for 2nd grade and LOVED to read, so that could be why. I worked at the school as a volunteer once a week and ran the reading groups, but noticed that the behavior of the kids and the discipline was as bad as the public schools. I pulled them back home.

A few days after I started teaching them at home I realized that my son had trouble focusing enough to move smoothly to the next line in his book. He got glasses shortly thereafter.

We were having a great time and everyone was doing well. That was when I decided to purchase The Busy Woman's Daily Planner. I was their top sales rep and loved to help others get organized! A series of events took place to lead me to purchase the company. However, after bringing the company home I had to figure out how to home school and run a real company (not just be a rep for a company).

This was a whole new world I didn't know enough about. But to make this story a little shorter I'll cut to the facts. I have 3 kids, 1 boy and 2 girls. My two girls were not easy to home school and gave me a run for my money. I let one go to college early and the other two kids went on the video school programs. I found I couldn't do it all. After about a year of running the company and the kids on video school, I had to put the kids back in public school.

So here I am today with a thriving business. However I miss being a home school mom.

Many people don't really understand what it takes to actually run a company that has inventory, yet alone the other many tasks that go along with running a company. I'm telling you this story because a lot of ladies think they can home school and run a business. You need discernment as to what type of business and how much time and money you want to invest.

I got into business thinking this would be a life long career for the whole family. What I found was that no one else wanted to be a busy woman but me. I have to do things as a part of business that I don't like doing in order to be able to do things in business that I love doing, which is helping other women.

If I had it to do over again I would stay more focused, get more educated in what I was doing, and trim down the product line until we had good control over that before developing a new product line. I love the calls for help on getting organized and learning how to schedule. But I don't love the many office tasks and having to keep up with market trends. So for that I would budget better and hire someone.

While I know my kids wanted mom home all day every day they have learned a lot. There are good things that have come from this: My kids know what they don't want to do and are figuring out how to find their true passion. They have also learned how to grow where they are planted which is important for any person. They aren't afraid to travel and they can mix well with any age group. So before setting out to get into business while being a home schooling family, do heavy research. Listen to the advice of those who've gone before you because you really don't know everything until you've lived it. And most of all, find something you're passionate about.

ฉ2006 Susie Glennan

BIO: Susie Glennan has been happily married since 1982, is mom to 3, grandmom to 2, Teacher, Author, Professional Speaker, Toastmaster, President of The Busy Woman, Inc., DBA - The Busy Woman's Daily Plannerฎ. She teaches time management seminars, offers FREE consultations with your order, and will help you set up a schedule that's right for you. 800-848-7715 www.thebusywoman.com

Sep. 25, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Sep. 25, 2006 - Untitled Comment

Oct. 23, 2006 - Homeschooling

Dec. 25, 2006 - Untitled Comment