Kids Entrepreneurs Running the Family Homeschooling Biz
By Rebekah Callihan, 20 years old
Looking back over the past year and nine months, the events I#146;ve had the opportunity to be involved in are starting to fit like pieces of a puzzle in a way I#146;ve never experienced before.
An entrepreneur was never something I saw myself becoming. Sure, I guess selling rabbits with a big sign on the side of the road outside of our house would be considered a (very) small business. Beyond this, however, starting and building a business was not on the top of my #147;to do#148; list.
My older brother, Jeremiah, younger sister, Katie, and I have been involved since the beginning in the production of the book written by our parents (
The Guidance Manual for the Christian Homeschool: A Parent#146;s Guide to Preparing Home School Students for College or Career
, Career Press, 2000-2002). As the publisher#146;s deadline got closer, Mom and Dad didn#146;t feel they#146;d ever be able to finish the book with all the daily chores of life they normally took on. After a brief family meeting, Jeremiah, Katie and I each assigned ourselves to take over the cooking, cleaning the house, and home schooling our two younger brothers, Josiah and Wesley. Even though our names aren#146;t on the cover of the published book, Mom often reminds us of the contribution we gave to make it come together.
Early in the spring of 2001, my parents were getting ready to make their rounds as second-year authors and speakers to the home schooling community. It was time to think over the different products they would provide for the homeschool market. They always prefer to make available as many of the different curricula and reference materials they themselves have come to rely on from their experience as home schooling parents. However, this year they realized that they were just not in a place to fund the distribution of all their favorite resources.
While discussing the different options for the upcoming events we#145;d be attending, it came up that Jeremiah, Katie, and I, through working at our local Christian bookstore, probably had more extra money to invest into the business than Mom and Dad did at the moment. As the discussion deepened and thoughts churned, the idea surfaced that we could invest in the family business ourselves.
Mom and Dad offered a proposal to us for buying the book distribution portion of the business. We would take over all the sales and bills for the rest of the homeschool conventions that we#146;d be traveling to over the Spring/Summer season. Once we had a break in all the travel, we would evaluate and see how to continue. Since Mom and Dad were already booked to be speakers at each of the conventions we#146;d be attending, we had free marketing right off the bat. It was at this point that my eyes began to open to see the chain of events that came together to provide for this opportunity.
Jeremiah, at this time, was finishing up his freshman year at college as a business major. For him, building a business would be an excellent experience, and for us, having him with some business knowledge would offer insight in different areas of the pursuit. Katie and I were working full time at our local Christian bookstore (Jeremiah was also working weekends there). And though it was very fulfilling to be serving the Christian community through my job, it wasn#146;t always as enjoyable as I had expected. Now, however, the numerous hours I had spent at Sacred Melody Bookstore began to have a clear purpose in my life. Working full time at the store was the provision for the capital that opened the door to this opportunity. But not only that, the experience and knowledge in areas of product information, marketing schemes, customer service and accounting responsibilities (that a business in book sales cannot survive without), was provided to each of us through this period.
I would have the chance to use what I#146;d learned recently at the store, be traveling with my family (giving me the chance to build my relationships with them), and offer resources and insight to home schoolers in many different areas across North America.
Now, I must confess, this new pursuit was definitely not without distraction and discouragement. Trials came up for me personally with work schedules, other commitments, fear of failure, etc. I know Katie and Jeremiah also had similar doubts of ever succeeding, but I believe by pressing through these roadblocks we all defined our faith and developed our determination. Though discouragement arose, I never failed to see that this was a true vision that would lead to prosperity.
Our convention season has quieted down, and we are at the moment on a break from the road. The options for continuing keep pouring in however. The business is growing, and provides for my family and me in many ways. Yes, I am talking monetarily, but I consider myself to have gained an abundance of riches from the blessing we#146;ve been able to give to and receive from others.
###
Bio: Rebekah Callihan is the daughter of David and Laurie Callihan, authors of
The Guidance Manual for the Christian Homeschool: A Parent#146;s Guide to Preparing Home School Students for College or Career
, and the
Christian Homeschool Student Planner and Parent#146;s Guide
. She is one of five siblings, Katie, 18; Jeremiah, 21; Josiah, 17; and Wesley, 15. Rebekah graduated from home school in 2000, and all five kids were homeschooled from birth. They, however, did attend a private Christian school for a couple of years where Laurie served as one of their teachers. Rebekah is now a junior nursing student at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, NY. Though not official, her love for children has led her to focus on the area of pediatric nursing. Rebekah hopes to one day be able to serve in the mission field as a nurse. The Callihan#146;s homeschooling resources are found at
www.davidandlaurie.com
; the Callihan children#146;s business arm of David and Laurie#146;s homeschooling business is
Home Education Learning Products and Services (H.E.L.P.S.)
, a name that the children themselves thought up.
When the opportunity arose for Jeremiah, Rebekah, and me to buy my parents business, I was, at first, purely skeptical. Was I really prepared to sustain another project, another responsibility, another risk at this point in my life? In the days following, I met with my siblings, and we estimated the ramifications. All things considered, the positives exceeded the negatives. Even if we lost all material assets the very idea of being of service to our parents was incentive to press forward. As we proceeded, my doubts were proven deficient. Through this adventure I was able to spend simple valuable moments conversing #147;business#148; matters with my siblings and working out "glitches" with my parents.
-- By Katie Callihan, 18 years old
My parents had to have faith that homeschooling was how God wanted them to educate their children, and that He would help them in the process. They had to have courage to go against the norm of society by not sending their children to the normal institutional schools. They also had to have a vision. We have been struggling to start our family business for the last seven years. We would have quit six years ago had it not been for that vision and the faith and courage that go with it. We are now being given an opportunity to take ownership of the sacrifices our parents have made for us. We children have been given the awesome opportunity to exercise that same faith, courage, and vision as we work with the homeschooling community.
-- By Jeremiah Callihan, 21 years old
