Today, I realized that I had been preparing myself for life as an entrepreneur long before I had even heard of the word. I was reading this blog post by my co – blogger Richele McFarlin about businesses that kids can start, and I realized that I had started babysitting for neighbors as soon as I was old enough to take a babysitting class. Sure, I had other jobs during high school and even during college, but I always had at least a few babysitting clients.
When I started out as a babysitter, I was simply watching the neighbor’s children after school until they came home a couple of days each week. As soon as I was old enough to become a lifeguard, I got a job a health club in the city. My mom was kind enough to drive me to work every day during the summer, as I was still too young to have a license. At my job, I interacted with many families and children especially while helping out during swim lessons. Parents began asking me if I could babysit occasionally, and soon I was doing it once or twice a week.
I kept up with babysitting as well as working as a lifeguard and swim instructor all through high school. When I went to college in that same city, I kept doing both of those things. Now that I was older, I was being paid more for babysitting, and even did some overnights and weekends for some of the families that I worked with. I have fond memories of one very special family who would let me take care of their three children and their beautiful home for two to three days at a time. I got to use their car to take the kids to the park, to the movies, to their friends’ houses, and wherever else we wanted to go. I was able to cook them all of their meals and basically “play mom” all weekend.
Somehow, I must have known that securing my own work independently, even while holding a job, was something that I could do. Babysitting helped me to develop faith in my ability to attract clients and to work with each family to make sure that they got what they needed. I use those skills every day as I assess my clients’ needs and determine the best way to serve them, even though practicing law and writing are very different than babysitting. If your child does start working as a babysitter, lawn care provider, pet sitter, or other entrepreneurial pursuit, there is a good chance that he or she may grow into an entrepreneurial adult. As an entrepreneur myself, I would say that that is a good thing and I thank my parents for helping me and encouraging me from day one, way back in middle school.
Photo by anitapatterson on morguefile.com