Why I'm a Gold Digger, and You Should Be Too

Prospecting for gold is an activity that both tourists and residents enjoy in Idaho, where I live. Prospectors travel to rivers, creeks and other areas to search for gold and other treasures. "Search" is the key word associated with prospecting. Men, women and teens are not waiting at home, in an office, or in a place of business, waiting for gold to come to them. They go out and look for it. When they find it, prospectors do the work necessary to retrieve the gold, and sometimes, they dig to get to it.

Prospecting is a MUST for growing a family business. If you ignore it, your company will not grow to the levels you dream about. What's the gold in your business? What stops you from being a gold digger?  What activities should you be doing on a daily basis to search and dig for gold? Here are some ways you should be prospecting:

8 Creative Ways to Collaborate and Grow Your Family Business

Your success in family business depends on your ability to connect and collaborate with others. You'll generate more revenue and make a bigger impact in the world through collaboration. Learn how to implement these eight tools for collaboration to create your competitive advantage and grow your family business.

1.  Practice hospitality.  It's one of the most productive tools for connection and collaboration. Invite potential joint venture partners, team members, clients and leaders to share a meal. If possible, host meals in your home or find an intimate environment that would be suitable to have conversations.

#13 - Collaborate or Die...Tips for Growing Your Family Business with Others

Watch the video below or download and listen to this episode of Family Business with Daphne.

The Community Developer Quadrant Explained - Daphne Mallory's Family Business Quadrant

The real power and opportunity of family business lies in the Community Developer quadrant. Entrepreneurs, who become successful family business owners will invest in real estate and other businesses, and as a result develop their communities. What would your community look like if YOU developed it? What problems would YOU solve? What would be YOUR priorities?

Let's deal with the first few objections that may come to mind when I suggest that YOUR FAMILY should become the community developer where you live. You may be thinking:

 "Aren't there politicians for that?"

"I don't have any power or authority to develop my community?"

 "I'll just give money to three or four non-profit organizations or churches to take care of it." 

"My country is not like the United States. I would endanger my family if I thought this way."

All of these objections revolve around an age old question that has been the source of many conflicts throughout history.

#12 - 50 Reasons for Starting a Family Business (41-50) (Family Business Radio Show)

Daphne Mallory explains the remaining 10 reasons for starting a family business. You can also download this family business episode.

The Investor Quadrant Explained - Daphne Mallory's Family Business Quadrant

Let me be clear: You don't need to be rich to become an investor.

As you grow your family business, you'll have excess money. One of the best strategies for what to do with that money is to make it work for you through smart investments. What are those? A smart investment generates income for you and your family in the here and now. You can count on cash every month or quarter from the income that the investment generates.  The mindset of an investor is to use money to make more money. It's not to save money for a future date. (Note: I am not saying that you should not save money at all. Some families try to save 6 to 12 months living expenses prior to investing. Some families need to take advantage of opportunities and will risk savings to invest, with a plan to start saving again. Use wisdom and discernment to make those decisions.)

You need to have excess to invest. For example,

Make Entrepreneurship Education a Top Priority

Every family business owner should make entrepreneurship education a top priority. The more you develop entrepreneurship skills the easier building a business becomes. My approach to most things is to find a way to organize this myself. As a homeschool mom of 4, I incorporate entrepreneurship education in daily learning projects. Even if you don’t homeschool, chances are you’re going to need to supplement your family education (yes, you included). Here’s how I do it:

Create Project-Based Unit Studies

I love unit studies because it’s the most effective way to build skills and knowledge in a way that’s relevant. For example, Sabya is my teen daughter and multimedia producer. I needed her to develop social media marketing skills to help grow our family business. It was important for her to learn and practice those skills last summer because we needed to grow a significant social media following by the beginning of this year. Who knows when a textbook or year long curriculum would get to my pressing need to build a social media presence?

#11 - 50 Reasons for Starting a Family Business (1-40) (Family Business with Daphne - Radio Show)

Daphne Mallory explains the first 40 reasons for starting a family business.