Kids helping your business

Running your own business or working for someone else whilst also being a parent is not easy. There’s a definite balancing act that changes daily.

Sometimes, instead of separating your roles as parent and business person, it can be rewarding and fun to combine them. The following list includes a number of ways your child or children can help you in your business – the idea is to spark more ideas that suit your lifestyle.

By getting the children to help your business, you are spending time together in a constructive way, you may save some time and they get to feel important and involved, learn about what you do, take some reasonability and learn specific skills. It’s win win and it beats them getting into mischief whilst you are in a busy phase of business!

These ideas are in no particular order and their usefulness depends on your business and the age of the child; many ideas can be adapted to suit older or younger children, however.

☺ Putting stamps on envelopes – even when they’re not about to be used!

☺ Folding letters and placing in envelopes – be careful with personalised letters and labels!

☺ Putting flyers in letterboxes on the other side of the street to you

☺ Sorting stock or supplies into piles (great for building their maths skills, too)

☺ Decorate your work space with drawings and paintings to inspire your creativity!

☺ Wash paint brushes or other business tools

☺ Test all your pens to get rid of the empty ones

☺ Sharpen your pencils

☺ Tape up boxes that are packaged for delivery

☺ Help pack boxes of customer orders

☺ Collate pages of documents into order

☺ Fold newly printed brochures

☺ Put collected business cards into your card holder

☺ Staple together documents if there’s a pile of them

☺ Act as models for trying new products or developing patterns

☺ Pose for marketing photos

☺ Add your name stamp or label on envelopes, brochures, catalogues etc

☺ Sort your paperclips or rubber bands into sizes

☺ Give feedback on colours or styles of new ideas

☺ Keep you in touch with the younger market and trends

☺ Provide creative names for new product lines

☺ Help with any handwritten aspects of work – ruling lines, crossing out, copying a phone number, etc

☺ Typing out a copied document

☺ Finding a particular internet site for you (assuming the child is old enough to safely search the net)

☺ Collect the mail for you

☺ Sort receipts or invoices into months for accounting purposes

☺ Cross cheques – and write them if old enough

☺ Set up templates or filters on the computer for you – you’ll be amazed at how soon this can occur!

☺ Check off incoming orders for complete information

☺ Stock take

☺ Open and sort mail as it arrives

☺ Brainstorm new ideas and marketing strategies

☺ Answer standard emails for you

☺ Send faxes

☺ Data entry

☺ Filing

☺ Hand over necessary tools or equipment as required

☺ Count money if you have a cash operation or a petty cash tin

☺ Set up star charts for your achievements in the business

☺ Tidy up your desk …

☺ Look for new patterns or pictures for you to work from

☺ Seal envelopes once filled

☺ Count brochures or business cards for distribution purposes

☺ Pack your supplies before meetings or business appointments

☺ Write reminders for you as you work (eg buy more staples, ring client X on Tuesday, get printing quotes)

☺ Listen to your work to ensure it makes sense

☺ Research prices on the phone for you

☺ Label your files or drawers or document trays

☺ Teach them your business name and description – you never know who they’ll mention it to!

☺ Answer the phone

And remember, even if takes them three times longer than you to do something, if it saves you time and/or gives you some quality time together then it’s worth every extra second!

Kids helping your business - To learn more about this author, visit Tash Hughes's Website.

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