A Woman's Weekly

First there’s my Little Entrepreneur. Next comes her Mom’s home-based business venture – which I guess makes me, the Mompreneur.

I first came across this term back in early 2007 when I was researching home-based business ideas. At the time, reading all about it was exciting enough. One Mompreneur commented that she has never worked as hard as she had since starting a home business, and yet when asked whether she’d still do it if given a chance to turn back the clock, she said she would, in a heartbeat. Another Mom talked about rushing to meet a client only to find her presentation file filled with the artful crayon work of her two year old. Yet another Mom talked about working her home business around her child’s sleep hours, which sometimes go well past midnight.

And here I am beginning to live the stories that I had read back at that time. Now I can laugh and cry at some of the challenges, the trials and the joys that these Mompreneurs who had gone before me had experienced.

I am still such a raw newbie at Mompreneurship. But I am beginning to feel the joy at the end of every experience.

And yes, I am aware that there are Little Ones watching me. My prayer and my goal is to be a good example to them.

Big Sis came up to me one day and asked for extra spending money for school. I told her that she always gets just what she needs for school, never more or less. I also told her that money comes from working for it.

It seems she went away thinking about that statement.

One day, probably after having been inspired by a Lemonade Stand story on Disney Channel, she came up to us and announced that she wanted to hold a Yard Sale and sell off her old stuffed toys to raise spending money for school. We had mixed thoughts. On one hand, we didn’t want to discourage a learning experience. On the other, we only know to raise funds where a percentage of the profits goes to something meaningful like Mission or charitable organisations. She wanted to raise funds for her own use.

Typically, Big Sis is not one to back out on a decision she has already set her mind to. And so, one Saturday morning, she did a couple of signs on A4 papers and stuck them to our front gate. She asked Daddy to put up a table at our front porch, which Daddy graciously obliged. She gathered the stuffed toys and some other things she thought was saleable and sat at her little ‘booth’.

An hour passed and no one (obviously) came. She came back into the house and with tears streaming down her cheeks reported to me that she hadn’t sold off anything. She called her Daddy and Daddy offered to buy everything off her. But no, she wouldn’t have it. She wants people to come and buy from her.

And so, after much consoling and advising that there’s a lot more things to be done to get a project like that off the ground, she agreed to my arranging a little Lemonade booth for her to operate in Church after Sunday School.

As such, Mommy calls all her Sunday School friend’s Mommies and told them about Big Sis’ little enterprise after Church the coming Sunday, especially mentioning how the venture came about. I also informed the Mommies that their Children could get their 50 sen coins from me and proceed to Big Sis’ Lemonade Stand outside the Sunday School room.

Her Drink Stand was a hit. Some Mommies even proceeded to get their Children to ask for seconds and thirds and paid for them without picking up the 50 sen coins from me. (Such wonderful support!) Uncle Pastor heard about Big Sis first business venture and came to buy one drink and let her keep the change. (I was so busy helping her clean cups I forgot to take a picture! argh!!)

All in all she raised RM20. My little Entrepreneur was mighty pleased.

I think she learnt this lesson well.

My Eldest daughter came up to me this week and reported that they will be reading from the Bible at Sunday School the coming Sunday - that is, actually opening & reading through the pages of a Bible instead of the Memory Verses that they usually get.

“So can you get me my own Bible Mommy?” she asked me earnestly.

Immediately I remembered a passage in Scriptures that talked about when a child asks the parent for something, the parent will not usually give something other than good. YES was my immediate answer.

I owned and read through the Bible for the very first time in my life at the age of twelve and I remember my desire for it was a lot like how my daughter feels about it right now. It is and always will be, the most significant event in my life since then. A request like that from my precious child is an important one for me. 

Here she is with her very own first Bible.

A leather bound lavender colored ZonderKidz Bible. It’s great how these days there are beautiful Bibles available on the market for all types of readers. We are grateful that compared to some other parts of the world where the Bible is scarce, we are blessed for choices.

The Middle Sis spotted a pink one and in a readers version exactly how she would read it, and also requested for it. So we got it for her too.

To begin with, I think I will teach them to read a chapter a day for everyday from the book of Proverbs.

 ’My child, if your heart is wise, my heart will be glad. Deep down inside, I will be happy when you say what is right.’ Prov 23:15-16 NIrV