Supporting Your Spouse As They Begin A Christian Home Based Business

Your beloved spouse comes home from another day at the grind and announces, “I’ve had enough! I’m going into business for myself.” Before you start hoarding food and stashing money in the mattress, stop and pray.

Remember that God is sovereign and that He will provide for you. This new venture may be exactly what God has planned for your life. Surrender your will to Christ and pray. He may give you a peace that calms your fears and alleviates your concerns. Anxiety is a natural reaction to change, but as Christians we are to fight back with God’s truth.

The changes that come about in your spouse may surprise you, especially if they are following a prompting from God to leave the traditional work force. Pray with your spouse and be honest about your feelings. Discuss your excitement over the possibilities that a new business can provide. Vent your frustrations and fears about the changes and instability that will come in days ahead. Keep the communication open, between you and your spouse, and you and God.

This does not mean putting on a smile no matter what happens and ignoring the realities around you. It does mean that you should live beyond your circumstances and trust God. Be supportive of your spouse through the ups and downs. Encourage each other, pray together, talk with other couples who have started a home business together.

Do some research in your spouse’s chosen area of business. Learn the associated jargon. Be familiar with the product or service provided by the business. Make yourself available to help with menial tasks like errands and printing shipping labels. Talk up your spouses’s bravery and professionalism every chance you get. Announce the birth of your new business at church, to your friends and family, to anyone who will listen. Be your spouse’s biggest fan. You will need to be knowledgeable of the business so that you can take calls on busy days and answer questions on the street when approached by curious neighbors and passers by.

Go to the library and research small business management and marketing, condense the books into a divided binder full of notes on the topics your have researched. You can present it to your spouse as a “business warming” gift. This information should be easy to read and condensed down to useful facts. You can even sneak in personal notes of encouragement, scripture verses or inspirational quotes.

Going the extra mile to show interest in what is important to your spouse will help hold you together through the storms of life and will allow you ti build a strong, Christ centered business that can be passed down for generations to come.

Begin Your Own At Home Catering Business

Cooking can be a hobby, a passion and a pure joy for some of us. If this sounds familiar you may be interested in beginning your own home run catering service. Catering is a huge home business opportunity. With requests for catering services for a wedding reception, birthday, reunion or even business dinners, there are clients available from the start. Beginning a catering business is really all about planning. Create a name, business plan, get your business license and get your equipment. Once you have these four areas under raps all that will be left is to advertise your service. Below each of these areas is discussed in more detail for a better understanding of each area.

Business Name

Your business name can be playful and fun or serious and sophisticated. Your business name says what you want it to about your business. A business name is similar to your attire. If you want to be thought of as a business professional you might wear a button up blouse with slacks or a suit. If you are more casual and fun loving you may dress in jeans or brightly colored t-shirts. Your business name is the same. An example of a sophisticated name would be Roberto’s Fine Catering Service. It gives a sense of seriousness and expertise. An example of a fun business name would be Aunt Fannie’s Fabulous Food Service. Fun and bubbling with personality, this caterer may be very appealing to a younger crowd. So depending on what you want your business name to reveal about your business is up to you.

Business Plan 101

Business plans do not have o have a hundred pages and be printed on fancy paper. A business plan needs to include your goals, your budget and information about who is evolved in your company. This document can be printed up in your home using software that can be purchased from your local office supply store.

Business License

By visiting your local licensing office or your local courthouse, you can pay a small annual fee that will allow you to run your home business,

Business Equipment

To rent or not to rent that is the question? You can begin your business by renting used restaurant equipment or spend a small fortune on new equipment. This is generally a choice based upon ones business budget. Either method will allow you to begin your home business. You can always choose to purchase each new piece throughout a period of time instead of all at once.

Once you have all of these areas in order you can focus on advertising. Get the word out about your business through flyers, brochures or business cards that can all be printed in your home office. When you are beginning your business you have to be cautious about where you spend your money. Saving here and there is a helpful key to success. Once you are up and running you will thanking your lucky stars that you jumped on the job opportunity of running your own home based catering business.