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My daughter and I are running a web company together

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I am the proud father of a 25-year-old woman, and we’ve recently started a web company together. I decided to share our story for two reasons. First because we are both very proud and happy, and second because it may help some of you out there go after your dreams.

Carpenting and me

Black Claw Hammer on Brown Wooden Plank

You see, I took up carpenting as a hobby in my teens. That was forty years ago; I’ve been a carpenter all my life. Chairs, boxes, sculptures, tables, dressers, closets, doors. You name it, I can make it. And I will make it beautiful.

Thing is, I never tried to make money from my woodwork. I got myself a nice career doing something “serious”, so my work shed became a place of relaxation. Just a place I could escape to from time to time with a cold beer and some music. Most of what I crafted was either put to use, gifted to friends, or donated. That was fine with me.

Where my children come in

I have two kids. A son and a daughter. My son never got into carpenting, but my daughter was a different situation.

My daughter’s name is Susan, and she started coming by my work shed when she was nine. By age eleven I already had her helping me measure and hammer the occasional nail. She loved watching me work and loved helping. She also seemed to really get what her old man was doing. Pretty soon she was building things herself, working on her own projects. She fell in love with carpenting.

By the time Susan finished high school, she had already decided to be a carpenter for a living. Thing is, I had never made money from carpenting. On top of that, my wife and I really wanted Susan to go to college.

The problem

Susan wouldn’t have it. She wanted to work as a carpenter and wanted to start as soon as possible. She also loathed the idea of having to move out for college. But most of all, she was against going out to study “some useless thing that won't help me do what I want”. Her words.

Well, arguing with Susan didn't work. It never does. But she can be reasonable. Therefore, my wife and I started looking around online, trying to find options that would make all of us happy. Which was when I ran into an article talking about online colleges that had marketing courses.

I wanted to link that original article here, but it was years ago; it’s gone now. However, I did find a more recent article on Srcxp.com talking about the same thing.

I talked things over with my wife. She liked the idea of an online college for Susan too. It’s not always the best idea, some kids need the structure of a classroom to learn. But Susan had always been smart and independent. We figured she’d be fine.

We pitched the idea and Susan loved it right away. A marketing course would help her sell her products later, maybe even start her own carpenting company. And the course being online meant she wouldn’t have to leave the house or get away from her precious shed (the place was more hers than mine at this point).

Susan enrolled in an online college and kept working on her craft with me. Soon after, she started selling some of her works on eBay and other places, and she eventually used her college experience to open a web store. Recently, she even started doing YouTube videos with her co-host — me!

It’s been a blast; I couldn’t be happier. An online college was the perfect match for her, and as her sales numbers keep increasing, it looks like she'll be able to make a living doing what she loves after all. I hope reading this will help you and your kids do the same.



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