The section that I am about to go over is not exactly a Bible study.  It is more of an evaluation for you to use based on the Bible verse found in Proverbs 31:16.   I need to stress that all of the decisions you make should be under the authority of God and your husband. In my own experience, I was led to look for a home business for 1 year before we came up with an idea.  Truthfully, it was me who did most of the pondering, mulling over and musing about different businesses for our family.  I would bring the ideas to my husband and invariably he would point out some flaw in my "well thought out plan".  I brought several different ideas to him but he finally approved of the used book business.  After he approved it we prayed about it and sought out the Lord's will on this... 

Proverbs 31:16 "She considers a field and buys it. Out of her earnings she plants a vineyard."

    In Proverbs 31:16 the virtuous woman is looking at the field as a potential business. Be it a garden plot to supply her family with food or a business she can run from her home. When she looks at the field she looks at it from every angle and prays about the possibilities. Looked up the synonyms of consider and found these: to contemplate, study, ponder, weigh, toy with, turn over in mind, muse, mull over, evaluate motive

     Today's virtuous woman can also consider and choose her field (homebusiness) just like the proverbs woman of old. I asked my husband(who is a farmer for 16 years) what one  looks for when he evaluates a field for purchase. Let us look at these pointers and apply them to the selection of your "field"

According to Bob,when he is thinking about purchasing a field,he considers:

• Location-
  • Is it close to my base of operation? (Could I run this out of my home, my garage, my basement, or spare room?)

   

• Boundaries-
  • What does this "field" all encompass? (What exactlywould this business sell or what service would it provide?)

  • Who are the neighbors? (Who will I come in   contact with and be dealing with? For  example in our business, I deal mainly with other  homeschool mothers. A tutor would deal mostly with children.)

   

• Resources-
  • A. Do I have time to do this? (How much time will this business realistically take out of my day? And how much can I spare with out hurting my family.)
  • B. How will this effect my life and my families? (Does this fit in with my husbands occupation, desires and goals of husband, and children's age?)
  • C. Do I have money to purchase this? (Do I have money saved or at my disposal to put into this business. For example, we had $500.00 to put into the initial purchase of books to resell.)
  • D. Do I have the equipment and skill I need to make this "field" successful? (Do yo u need special equipment or software? Do I have the personality and temperament to fit this occupation?)

   

• Productivity-
  • A. How much can I produce? (How much money can I make or goals of operation)
  • B.What do I need to make this as productive as possible? (What kind of budget do I need to make this business productive. You will need to budget your earnings back into the business. Also a set aside savings for your business for times of expenditure or decreased sales.).
  • C. When will it start paying me back? (It is wise to know that at first costs are high and income is relatively low.)

     These are some questions that you can ask yourself before you plan a home business or purchase a garden plot for your families use. I want to urge you that homebusiness are not for everyone. There should be no guilt or unsettledness if this is not what the Lord has for you or your family.  In fact, somedays, especially during our busy time, our whole family wonders if this is what God would have us do! Before you consider doing this seek God's face.

After the virtuous woman considers the above plan she puts feet to her well thought out plan and does something --she buys it. The two points of application I can see in this portion are that

• There is a strong suggestions that she has the money saved up or otherwise called CAPITAL. It does not say she borrows, takes out a loan, or purchases on credit cards. She buys it.~ Proverbs 22:7

**Remember, good management can overcome a lack of start-up capital BUT capital can never overcome poor management.

• Another thing that I have noticed is that the difference sometimes between those who have a home business and those who do not is lack of action. If God says yes, you are confirmed through your husbands permission, the questions above have been answered favorably and you have the means to do it... what is stopping you?.

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"Out of her earnings she plants a vineyard"

After having read this passage it is time to consider this aspect more closely. Is there an example to follow? I think here the example to follow would be to put into the business from the earnings. Reinvestment is one of the hardest things to do when you first start up a business. It does not bear fruit immediately. And neither does your business. Lets take a look at a vineyard to understand how this whole principal works. When you plant a grape vine it is a slip, a small plant that is not mature enough to bear fruit. The first few years it grows slowly. It adds to it leaves, vines and a root system. But still it yeilds no fruit. It may be from 3-5 years before you can harvest the long awaited return...grapes!

        The same is true with your business. At first your business is so small it is not mature enough to give you monetary return. The first few years it grows slowly, all the money you make goes right back into the business to make it's foundation more sure ~ ROOTS, to enlarge merchandise, or for advertisement or equipment ~ LEAVES, or for expansion ~ VINES. But still there is no excess. The money goes right back into the business and it still bears  little to no fruit. It may be 3-5 years before it yeilds the long awaited reward...profit.

The lesson I want you to remember is this:  

New businesses are like vineyards...they take a sustained period of incremental growth to get to the point of fruit bearing(profit).

    I pray that these questions and comments will aid you as you try to determine if this is what the Lord would have in store for your family.  Write me and let me know what you think! Until next time...

                                Blessings,

Shelley