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It was not long ago I was homeschooling my middle son, Kobe, for tennis. He struggled at first with homeschooling but we eventually found a groove that worked for both of us. The following tips are what we learned from two years of virtual learning with EPIC. And while I believe home-schooling and crisis online schooling are entirely different, they share many of the same foundational tenets. It wasn’t until I empowered Kobe with the resources to succeed that he began the confidence building activities that will serve him for, I believe, life. Children naturally want to please and succeed, but they may not always know how. Giving them the freedom to take control of their day allows them to make mistakes and learn from them, and eventually succeed. For my experience with Kobe, who loses focus quite often, I created the 3 Ps method - Prepared, Polite, Positive. All of the items listed below each tenet can be done by children ages 5 and up with the exception of emailing. Be Prepared Charge my device. Prepare Supplies and quiet workspace. Dress properly. Eat and use restroom prior to class. Be early/Mute mic/Turn on camera Be Polite Eliminate distractions - iPhone, tablet, toys, food, drinks. Turn off TV/radio Move animals to another room. Focus and listen Raise my hand and wait my turn. Be Positive. Stay positive. Use checklists or schedules to feel accomplished   Since older children may be required to attend online school for longer periods of time, special attention should be paid to eye health. For all ages, physical and mental states are very important to attend to, as well. Some advanced learning tips for older children include: 1.) Remember the 20-20-20 rule created by eye doctors for your eye health: Every 20 minutes, look up for 20 seconds at something 20 feet away. If you know you’ll be online for a long time, remember the 20-20-20. 2.) Make time for friends, even if it means seeing them virtually. 3.) Exercising daily will keep you very positive. 4.) Revisit your schedule. How did it work for you? Do you need to revise your plan? 5.) Self reflect on the experience learning from a distance. Look in the mirror; smile; say you are proud of yourself and pat yourself on the back! 6.) Share your learning with someone at home! And I saved the best for last - online etiquette. Being polite involves focusing on the speaker as he or she is speaking. This involves 6 body parts and can be broken down to: Ears are listening. Eyes are looking. Mouth is quiet. Hands are still. Body is facing the screen. Brain is thinking Online school may seem daunting at first but remember that change is inevitable and adaptability is key to success. For more information on Mary Nhin’s books, please visit eNinja or download the free Virtual School Success Cheat Sheet or Online Etiquette pdf. 
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 Owning a business is hard. And it’s an even more difficult task when you have children and trying to achieve a family work life balance. Workdays can be ongoing, often stretching to 16 hours, 7 days a week. Oftentimes, you’ll be missing out on quality time with your children, one of the biggest disadvantages in the early days of entrepreneurship. But if you stay the course, you can be rewarded with freedom and more time with your family as the end result. In the meantime, here are some great ways to reduce family work friction and teach your children the value of entrepreneurship and all that it has to offer.
Being around the family business can help kids become more successful in life. Entrepreneurship introduced early into a child’s life can help them develop social emotional skills like drive, mental toughness, communication, and negotiation skills that they may could not have learned elsewhere. How can you help your children develop these life-long skills? Try the following 5 ways and watch your children increase their initiative, grit, and business skills, naturally. 1. Teach Them Fiscal Fitness Teaching your kids financial literacy enables them to develop delayed gratification and can set them up for life.
2. Set Goals Together Setting goals can help your child develop a hard work ethic and grit. My favorite medium to use to develop goals is a vision board. This can be done as a family event wherein everyone creates one. Following up a vision board with written goals can help cement them into the subconscious. Goals can be broken down into 3 components:
3. Allow Them to Fail “Every failure carries with it a seed of equal or greater benefit, ” states Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich. When we allow our children to fail, we encourage them to learn from their past mistakes and to think of different ways in which to accomplish their goals. As a result, they become more mentally tough. It’s important to have a discussion about what was learned from the mistake so that they can adjust the course of action. Once they’ve realized what they’ve learned from this failure, give them the support that only a parent can provide by listening and encouraging them to not give up even when the odds seem insurmountable. 4. Cultivate Grit and a Hard Work Ethic “How you do anything is how you do everything” is about having a proactive mindset. As far as entrepreneurial skills, the phrase says a lot:
The main point to keep in mind is that even the seemingly insignificant stuff counts in business. Consider a few of these:
5. Instill Passion in All That They Choose to Do Parents can play a huge influence in determining a child’s work ethic and habits. This means that how you talk about your work and job, including your happiness or lack thereof with it, helps to shape the ideas about work that your children will likely adopt. You want them to know that it is possible to love what you do because when you make your passion your work, it really doesn’t feel like work. To do this, talk about what you’re learning and why it matters to you. Lead by example and demonstrate the importance of continual education by living it. Allow your kids to see you reading books, doing research, listening to podcasts in the car, and taking courses. You can involve them in it by explaining what skills you’re looking to improve and sharing your goals. Instilling passion also involves allowing them to try things that interest them. Providing them space to follow their hearts opens up opportunities for real passions to develop. The point isn’t necessarily to encourage your kids to become entrepreneurs themselves. It’s to teach them the values that enable it and help them in any industry they choose to go into. In any career, you have an advantage when you embody hard work, grit, and, above all, passion.  As young children begin their academic careers, parents often wonder are they doing enough to keep up.
“Does Timmy know all his 100 sight words?” “Should I start Olivia with physics?” “Does Emma know her multiplication table?” However, many parents would be surprised to know that social skills predicted outcomes into adulthood much more than early academics. For instance, a research study published in 2015 showed that social skills observed in kindergarten showed significant correlation with well-being at age 25, even with factoring in for family demographics and early academic ability, Social skills far outweigh intellectual intelligence! Kindergarteners who displayed social ability were more likely to graduate from high school, go to college, stay out of trouble, and start a career than those who showed a lower level of social aptitude, regardless of their socio-economic status or what age they began reading. So while many parents feel pressured to cut back on free and play time, it's actually those “not as important skills" that predict long-term success. Here are five important social skills you can foster in your child. 1. How to communicate Free time is a powerful tool for the development of social skills in a child’s early years. By playing with others, children learn to problem solve, negotiate, communicate, share and take turns. 2. How to grow grit Where does problem-solving come from? And at what point do we, as parents, teach problem-solving and perseverance? We can teach problem-solving by allowing them to fail and try again. When we ask children how a problem should be solved or how their solution is working out, we give them a chance to think about the experience and results. We're teaching them that mistakes help us grow as long as we take the lessons learned from them. 3. How to manage emotions The development of this crucial skill calls for the naming of emotions. Whether you do this in your own home (“Your sister doesn’t look very happy you took her jumprope without asking.”) or though a storybook (“How do you think this made him feel?”), it’s important that you give each emotion a name. That way, your child can recognize it for what it is. What drives the plot in most books are conflict and emotion. If you are able to have conversations about observed emotions of the characters, it’s often easier because your child isn't tied up in the emotion roller coaster themselves. From an unemotional vantage point, your child may be more accepting about the emotions in the book and then apply it in real life. It’s important to make sure that your kids get plenty of time interacting with other children since excessive screen use may prevent the development of your child's social skills to recognize emotions in others. 4. How to be kind to themselves and others Children who learn empathy and compassion for others adapt in the real world more easily. Being kind to others requires them to understand the needs of others. By complimenting your child when you notice kindness, You can encourage your children’s helpful and kind behavior by praising them for acts of kindness, both big and small. Children can help with household daily tasks which include bringing in the groceries, grabbing a band-aid when someone is hurt, or holding the door open. It can, also, be as simple as smiling, saying “Thank you”, or giving a compliment. 5. How to develop delayed gratification If a child doesn’t learn how to control their impulses, the results in adulthood can end up in eating disorders, spending addictions, and even hoarding. In the infamous marshmallow study, where a child must delay gratification and wait before consuming a treat, most children did not have this skill down yet. One way to foster delayed gratification in children is though sports. For example, tennis and soccer are sports that require a lot of time and patience to develop. The success is not seen overnight. Instead, children must practice and develop long-term goals which can help delay their gratification to win a trophy. Books are also a great way to build these skills. By taking a character and an imaginative storyline, children can stand in the character’s shoes, thinking outside of their own perspective. It may seem as if, with social media’s highlight reel, that your child is academically behind or that you need to ‘catch up’. However, the reality is everyone learns at their own pace and social skills they develop in early childhood may assist them far better and for much longer.  On April 16, SBA announced that they are no longer accepting new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, leaving many small business owners in the dust. After 13 days of dispersing funds to hundreds of thousands of business owners across the country, the relief fund of $349 billion has run dry. It's possible the PPP will re-open at some point.
So what can you do right now? I recommend these 3 things:
Pre-apply for the PPP According to recent research, there are approximately 800,000+ applications waiting to be processed once the PPP opens up again. If you want to be first in line once the PPP opens, I recommend getting your application in order today and submitting it to a PPP lender. It seems that the smaller community banks are handling PPP loan applications faster than big banks. I recommend reaching out to the financial institutions you’re already a member of first to see if they’re an SBA approved lender. Get creative When I found out restaurants in my state were only allowed to accommodate take-out and delivery, we had to come up with alternative plans so not to lay off or furlough our employees. That's when we came up with several different programs our restaurant could offer to do just that AND help those on the frontline. We created the 'Adopt a Doc or Nurse Program'. We also fast-tracked our mobile app, online ordering, e-gift card launch in the rise for contactless and convenient ordering. Explore alternative funding If you don’t qualify for the PPP but still need cash flow to keep your operations going, here are resources I recommend looking into. Support from government The Save Small Business fund This is a grant made available by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and supporting partner companies. It provides $5,000 to small businesses with 3–20 employees.
The employee retention tax credit You can be eligible for payroll tax credits if you keep your employees on payroll, if you paid COVID-19-related sick leave for employees, or if you had to suspend operations. The Express Bridge Loan You can borrow up to $25,000 for disaster-related purposes from a lender you have an existing banking relationship with. Support from large businesses Many large companies have stepped up with resources and funding for small businesses affected by COVID-19. Facebook Small Business Grants Program Facebook is providing cash grants and ad credit to small businesses with 2–50 employees.
Google Ad Credits for Small and Medium-sized Businesses Google is providing ad credits to small and medium businesses that advertised on Google in 2019. Credits will be added automatically. Salesforce Care Small Businesses Grant $10,000 grants for small businesses. Applications not yet open. Regional support State Support There are many region-specific supports and resources offering emergency funding. Check your local chamber of commerce, economic development office, or nonprofit for relief programs. If your business is located in OKC, you may qualify for forgivable loans up to $50,000 through the state of Oklahoma: https://www.okc.gov/Home/Components/News/News/3357/18 Support for your industry Your industry organization may offer grants and specialized support. Here are a few active funding sources: Restaurant Employee Relief Fund The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation is providing grants of up to $500 for impacted employees. Food delivery workers (such as those who work with Uber Eats and Doordash) are eligible. The Photographer Fund This fund is providing up to $500 in grants to impacted photographers. CERF+ Emergency AssistanceUp to $3,000 in grants to established artists working in a craft discipline. Support for self-employed individuals Federal Stimulus Checks The federal government is providing up to $1,200 to eligible individuals. You can check the status of your payment at the IRS Get My Payment site. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Self-employed individuals and independent contractors are eligible for unemployment benefits if they find themselves unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable to work due to COVID-19. Visit your state’s Department of Labor site to apply. Freelancers Relief Fund Up to $1,000 in grants for freelancers experiencing financial or health hardship as a result of COVID-19. **Applications are temporarily closed**. Private lenders Banks, merchant processors, and other private lenders may offer lines of credit or other lending options. But the terms won’t be as favorable as the PPP and EIDL. One other thing: some of the below offers may have been changed due to COVID-19. Business line of credit A line of credit is more flexible than a bank loan, and usually cheaper too. Business credit cardUsing a credit card to float your business is usually a bad idea. However, some business credit cards offer 0% interest for the first year. 3/31/2020 The Paycheck Protection Program
 RCB bank is accepting pre-applications now.
 In our state (Oklahoma), Grubhub only has a small stake of the 3rd party delivery business. Here’s my advice to other restauranteurs for the other three top third party delivery services: Research each platform my downloading their app and then actually use it by placing an order for yourself or your family. It would be similar to interviewing someone except they don’t know they’re being interviewed. I did this with each 3rd party service platform I was considering partnering with, at least two times each. My personal findings were this:
 Grit is a fairly new word used in the social emotional arena. Based on Angela Duckworth’s 2016 book titled Grit, it is a key emotional intelligence skill that is derived from both passion and perseverance. I believe it is a predicator of success in all areas of life including financial, fitness, marital, and career. But if grit is so important, how do you develop passion and perseverance in kids? Read on to see my top tips on how, as parents and educators, we can help our children develop grit. 1. Entertain our kids’ urge to explore the hobbies and activities that attract them. If we allow our kids to explore what they find interesting, overcoming obstacles can come more naturally and giving up will be less of an option. The more they understand that even mistakes and failures teach us, the more they can focus on celebrating their journey, mistakes and all. It’s important to allow kids to see how it feels to be scared, and how to move past fear and learn to be brave. 2. Encourage them to set goals. Writing down goals is essential for intrinsic motivation and a growth mindset. It’s a long journey to achieve something you set your sights on so if kids are able to find a love for battling challenges and grow up eager to explore solutions to obstacles, they will succeed. Allowing kids to focus on performance goals, rather than outcome goals provides a basis for long-term satisfaction. Goals can be divided into these 3 subcategories: a. Process Goals: This is the only goal that one can control. An example of a process goal would be practicing soccer passes/kicks for 30 minutes. b. Performance Goals: This goal cannot be controlled. An example of a performance goal would be achieving 20/30 successful soccer ball passes or kicks. c. Outcome Goals: This goal cannot be controlled. An example of this would be scoring 24 soccer goals for the season or winning the end-of-season soccer championship. .  3. Empower our kids’ with the self-help tools that foster positivity and optimism. We can do this by teaching them the 4 Cs: Confident - I am confident when I visualize my success. Calm - I stay calm by using positive mantras like ‘I can do this!’ Carefree - I feel carefree when I face my fear of failure. I do this by asking myself, What’s the worst thing that can happen? I answer it. Then, I ask myself Will I survive? Capable - I am capable of creating and achieving goals. The 4 Cs empower kids by giving them the skill set needed to overcome obstacles. Once learned, kids can use at their disposal to recognize negativity and employ a variety of tools such as visualization, creating good habits, positive mantras, and setting goals. We all get side-tracked and that's why it's important to have good habits and mantras to reset oneself. With these tools, kids can get back on track and focus on the task at hand. Life itself is overwhelming so if we help equip our kids with emotional intelligence with which they can be self-sufficient, it will help serve them for life. 
1/6/2020 My 2019 Reflections Thank you so much for a wonderful 2019! We started a new publishing company, Grow Grit Press with the objective to help others overcome obstacles in their lives with more fervor and grit!❤️💜💙
With the release of 3 series, the Grow Grit Series, the UnicronPreneur series, and the Ninja Life Hacks series, we sold more than 10,000+ books empowering more children than we could have ever imagined. I grew closer to my two oldest boys because they are an integral part of our publishing company. Kobe co-writes the Grow Grit Series while Michael helps with marketing and is finishing up his first book. So when you buy a Grow Grit Press book, you’ll know you’re buying from a local family business! We are practitioners of what we preach and are empowering our own kids with situations that allow them to fail so they can learn about persevering and growing grit. Suplies needed: Black and Red Permanent Marker Googly eyes Black Felt Hot glue gun or glue  
DIY Yoga Doll Craft Materials needed- Click here for my Shoppable Amazon link for all the materials listed here. Pipe cleaners Pony Beads Wooden Squares or balls (for the head) (Wooden Dowel Caps) Yarn Scissors Permanent Marker Step 1: Bend the pipe cleaner in half. Step 2: Insert through the hall of ball or square. Push the pipe cleaner through by only 1.5" for just enough room to thread yarn through. I found wooden knobs at Hobby Lobby. It had a hole on one end and my husband drilled out the other side. Step 3: Loop yarn around hand about 6x. Step 4: Insert Yarn through the pipe cleaner. Step 5: Cut the yarn for length of hair desired. Step 6: Place one pipe cleaner underneath the head and fold over to form arms. Step 7: Thread the beads through pipe cleaner for the legs and arms. Step 8: Knob the hands and feet by folding over the ends of pipe cleaners. Step 9: Draw on the face with a permanent marker. Step 10: Enjoy! Have fun bending the dolls into yoga shapes!   Yoga Mala Necklaces, Bracelets, Sticks, and Rocks I purchased most of my products at Hobby Lobby. But if you're in a hurry or you don't have access to one, Click here for the Shopping supplies that can be found on my Amazon store titled Yogi Crafts  Amazon Shopping List |
- About
-
Blog
- 5 Ways to Teach Your Kids Entrepreneurial Skills They Can Use for Life
- Social skills far outweigh academic success in early years
- How to Help Children Develop Grit
- My 2019 Reflections
- My Top 14 Passive Income Ideas for 2019
- Why Launching 4 Books in 1 Month Hasn't Made Me Crazy
- Toughness Between the Ears Serves You Everywhere in Life
- The Benefits of Juicing
- The Truth about Home-Schooling
- Owning a Restaurant
- Fail. Then, grow grit.
- I have been married to 4 different men
- Tennis skills translate to life
- Goal-setting for kids
- Boys and businesses
- I Eat Shit Everyday
- The process will be slow, but you will succeed
- Books
-
Health Grit
-
Business Grit
- Restaurants
- About
-
Blog
- 5 Ways to Teach Your Kids Entrepreneurial Skills They Can Use for Life
- Social skills far outweigh academic success in early years
- How to Help Children Develop Grit
- My 2019 Reflections
- My Top 14 Passive Income Ideas for 2019
- Why Launching 4 Books in 1 Month Hasn't Made Me Crazy
- Toughness Between the Ears Serves You Everywhere in Life
- The Benefits of Juicing
- The Truth about Home-Schooling
- Owning a Restaurant
- Fail. Then, grow grit.
- I have been married to 4 different men
- Tennis skills translate to life
- Goal-setting for kids
- Boys and businesses
- I Eat Shit Everyday
- The process will be slow, but you will succeed
- Books
-
Health Grit
-
Business Grit
- Restaurants
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