(Clever tips to turn your home business into a family affair)

IT'S SUMMER VACATION!

The kids are screaming. "It's "WAY TOO HOT" outside. And there's nothing to watch on cable." Kids are bouncing off walls!

"MOM". We're B-O-R-E-D!

Your husband complains he doesn't remember what it's like to have a decent conversation with you. And he looks at family album to remind himself what you look like. Why? Because you've locked yourself away in your home office. Toiling away for hours on your computer.

Instead of your family constantly fighting and bickering over your venture. Let them join in. And become a vital part of your home business. Ultimately, this will bring family closer together, help them to understand business factor, teach your children responsibility, build their self confidence. And who knows, you might be on verge of your own Family Business Empire!

Here's a few nifty tips to get whole family involved in your business during summer vacation or any school break. And, of course, you can adapt them to your own situation. Find out what works for you!

-Delegate easy task to younger children. Let little fingers sort pencils, pens, office supplies into right compartments. Arrange file boxes or stack them neatly. Sort sheets of paper by color or weight into neat little groups. You could easily turn this into a game and make it fun. Reward them with a healthy snack or favorite toy.

That could mean a lot of different things, so let me talk about a few of them.

For one thing, getting started in morning can be pretty difficult for a lot of folks: just getting to that first cup of coffee can be biggest challenge of day! Try this: at end of today, try to save something for tomorrow that you are really looking forward to doing. Then, when your eyes open and that dreadful feeling of "I don't wanna get up!" starts to flood over you, you might remember fun thing you saved for yourself and jump out of bed with enthusiasm. (Or not!)

It's also hard to get started when you have a seemingly overwhelming pile or list of things to do, such as a stack of bills, letters, or emails that you have to deal with. Here's a tip: 'trick' yourself by deciding that you will only deal with, say, 10 of them and then give yourself a reward. For example, you'll just answer 10 emails and then treat yourself to a short European vacation! Hmmmmm, maybe that would be a little extreme… how 'bout a short walk in sunshine or listening to your favorite CD track? Here's what will happen: you'll do that first 10 and you'll say to yourself, "That wasn't so bad, I'll just do another 10 and then have my treat." Before you know it, task will be done and you'll really enjoy that treat that you've earned.