Good Businesses to Start

Businesses Your Kids Would Love You To Run

Written by Jay Shapiro for Gaebler Ventures

Juggling family and work can create untold pressures for working moms and dads. Understandably your kids won't see the appeal of you toiling long hours to make a success of your internet consultancy business. But what it you chose a business that appealed to them?

You want to run your own business for a number of reasons.

When you've got family, very often your priority is to be able to provide a good standard of living for them, cover their education fees when they grow up and maybe even have enough left in the bank to fund any nuptials.

It's because you love them that you're prepared to work so hard right? But the kids can't see it the way you do. All they know is that mom and dad are doing 'boring' things.

But what if you ran a business that had kid appeal? Would things be any different? Yes! If children can understand or at least relate to some aspects of what you are doing life gets a lot easier. It's no good saying to a child that you have to do the accounts or the tax man will come and strangle you. Kids don't get that.

When you say, "Mommy just has to draw up a marketing strategy," your little ones will stare at you blankly. And who could blame them?

But let's imagine you run a business that has kid appeal. No child is going to be bored if you have an ice cream or candy concession. In fact they'll more than likely be happy to come along to events and help you. You could even achieve Willy Wonka Status in the neighborhood!

If you're thinking of working from home or running your own business and want to chime in with your kids consider the following:

• Kids' Party Organiser
• Creche (your kids can come too)
• Children's Entertainer

In addition, there are franchises for children's hair and beauty salons, tutelage businesses and dance schools, all of which will have far greater likeability as far as your own youngsters are concerned than the more commonplace business ideas. And you never know, your children may well make friends with some of your young clientele.

Of course, if you do set up a chocolate factory Wonka style, you have to keep a lid on the cookie jar and the candy tin. Happy though your little ones may be to have you as the local chocolatiere, you don't want them to turn into Augustus Gloop lookalikes!

If aspects of your business can me made to be fun then your kids won't mind joining in and being a part of it. In fact sometimes that forms the basis of long term successful family ventures.

When they're involved and grow up thinking that having their own business is the norm they are equipped to become entrepreneurs themselves.

If you have teen offspring then setting up a candy shop mightn't have quite the cool factor needed to keep them interested. Look instead at industries that cater the teen market like clothes, music, movies, cosmetics, etc. Teenagers might not always be the voice of reason, even those who do think they know everything, but they usually have their finger on the pulse of fashion, so you could learn a thing of two from your sons and daughters.

Jay Shapiro is a freelance writer based in the UK. Jay has a particular interest in the emotive aspects of the entrepreneur's character. "Alongside the nuts and bolts of business, the character of the person is often the ingredient responsible for success."

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