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Running your own business is rarely a one person job. You will probably find that there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. And let’s face it; a business is more fun when you work with others.

It doesn’t matter if you are running a direct sales business or if you have an independent operation, a business is hard work. One of the great things about working from home though is there are usually people within your home and family that may be willing to help out. Here are some ideas to get your family more involved.

1)Children are usually very willing participants. My friends that have older children say that they constantly are asking to help. A child this is two or three could help out by stamping contact information on catalogs, with supervision of course. Older children could help pack orders.

2)Offer compensation. Much like giving a child an allowance helps to motivate them to do their chores, paying them to help with your business is an easy way to get them involved. You could pay an hourly rate or per task.

3)Let them in on the decision making. One of the best ways to help people feel they are a part of the business is by asking their opinion on decisions. Ask them everything from easy to difficult decisions, whether it is the font color on your business cards to whether or not you should offer a certain product. They will love to see those decisions come to fruition and take pride in them.

4)Pick out the easy tasks. Let your family take care of the easy tasks. That will free up your time to do the more difficult ones. Sure it isn’t any fun to do all of the hard work, but with your family helping out you will get things done sooner and have more time for them.

5)Make it fun. People are always more motivated to work when it is fun. Keep a light hearted attitude while working. Try and create a game out of the task at hand. Make sure to take breaks and schedule in some fun tasks to do.

6)Don’t talk about the business all the time. Just as most people don’t like to take work home with them, everyone likes to get away from their business at times. Schedule a time for business and keep discussions and work related tasks within that time period.

7)Decide on everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. You may be good at talking on the phone and your spouse may excel at bookkeeping. Make a list of the things that need to be done and who would be the most suited for the task. People are much more willing to work on a task that they are good at. Plus they will be more efficient and accurate at it.

8)Give them shares in the company. Shareholders take pride in a company because they have a vested interest in it doing well. Give the family members that contribute to your business a share in the company. They will work harder and be more likely to contribute if they know they have a personal stake in the company. Remember that you will have to pay out a dividend if the company is turning a profit!

9)Bribery. Sometimes good old fashioned bribery is the key to getting your kids or partner to help you out. Perhaps the children would like to visit the zoo or your spouse wants tickets to a baseball game. Offer a much desired outing in return for helping you out.

10)Catalog/Sample Packs. If you are in direct sales or have a company that does catalog sales, this is a great way for your children to help out. Let them assemble the catalog and sample packs. Have all of the items that need to go into the packages out and give them instructions as to what goes into each package. This is a great time saver for you and your children will probably have a blast helping out.

11)Ask them. The best way to get someone to help you out is to ask if they would like to do some work for you. Most people are not mind readers and the only way they will know that you need help is if you ask.

Having an involved family will really help in making your business seem worthwhile. Plus you will get things done in less time and have more time to spend with your family. Isn’t that why you decided to work from home in the first place?

How do you involve your family in your business? Do they enjoy helping you out? I wonder when my daughter will want to help me out.

Warmly,
Mia