Dad's laid off, Mom's looking for a job and their are two teenagers in the house texting and spending time playing computer games. Grandma's looking for part time work because of the shrinkage in her 401 K. The wolf's at the door! Maybe its time to look at owning a small family run business? Convenience Stores, Sub Shops, Pizza Shops, Gas Stations, Pubs, dry cleaners etc have long been successful models for a true family owned and run business.
A family owned and operated business is simply one where the family covers the vast majority of the labor costs incurred in running the business. The whole family works and draws a paycheck--the economic value of the business is the sum total of the wages paid to the entire family unit, plus net profit, plus tax benefits from owning a business.
A further advantage is hopefully the family members will be "trusted employees" and employee theft and shrinkage will be minimized, plus the fact that their will usually be an "owners" presence at the business which should result in better customer service, a higher degree of cleanliness, and overall better performance of the business.
This is a model which I have seen "New Americans" use with much success over the years and have often seen them acquire multiple businesses using extended family members (uncles, cousins, etc.) and truly realize the "American Dream."
Remember if you own your own business, you can't be laid off, downsized or have your job shipped out of country. You are the master of your own economic destiny.
There are lot's of opportunities out there for families willing to work--you may have to drag the teenagers away from Facebook and Wi but there are lot's of valuable lessons to be learned from hardwork, made all the more valuable because they are making a real contribution to the family unit.
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