How Our Family Entrepreneurial Journey Began
Our family entrepreneurial journey began in the far north of Western Australia, in the tiny remote community of Kalumburu, where we were both teaching and beginning family life. From there, our journey took us through farm life in Burekup, island life in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and six months travelling the United States in a motorhome with seven children.
All of these places and experiences fostered a real sense of community. Some of the places we lived, like Kalumburu and the Cocos Islands, were isolated, and the people there became like family. Our love of culture was also nurtured, and this has played out in our children’s lives ever since.
Farming taught us about health, sustainability, and an appreciation for what land provides for family and community. Travelling and experiencing life together built strong foundations of relationship, self-awareness, and a deep love for each other and for life itself.
The years of learning about money, mindset, leadership, freedom, and love still play out today, as our children have become each other’s best friends, confidantes, and mentors both personally and in business. You would definitely want to be a fly on the wall when we all get together.
Enterprise for Kids grew out of that journey. It became a place to record what we were learning, what we were trying as a family, and what we hoped to pass on to our children.
Where It All Began
Our story began in the remote far north of Western Australia, in the tiny town of Kalumburu, where we were both teaching. It was there that our first child, Kaitlin, arrived early and very quickly in the local clinic, with no birthing kit and only a relief nurse in town on holiday. A Flying Doctor trip to Derby followed, and from the very beginning, family life for us was an adventure.
From Kalumburu, and now towing two young children, we moved to Burekup, where we purchased a farm. During those years Flynn and Amber were born, joining Kaitlin and Jai. We worked hard as school teachers and farm business owners, while Cathy also built a Gymbaroo franchise with her sister in Bunbury. Life was full, busy, and rich with experience.
“From the very beginning, our family life was built around adventure, hard work, and a willingness to say yes to new possibilities.”
The Questions That Changed Everything
As teachers, we began asking bigger questions about education and whether it truly delivered in the areas of money, mindset, and entrepreneurship. Was it laying out a pathway to freedom and a meaningful future for our children? We could see that the school system in Australia did well in areas such as literacy and numeracy, but in our view, it was not doing enough to teach young people about money, investing, business, initiative, leadership, or entrepreneurial thinking.
Around this time, we immersed ourselves in personal development, which opened the door to deeper learning about ourselves, leadership, belief systems, and the way people interact with each other and the world around them. It became a catalyst for the journey that would later become Enterprise for Kids.
We started to see how many beliefs about money, work, and possibility are formed early in life. We also recognised many limiting beliefs in ourselves that we felt would not serve our children. Developing a healthier money mindset and a more entrepreneurial way of thinking became an important part of our journey.
“We didn’t want our children to inherit the same limiting beliefs we had absorbed. We wanted them to know there were other ways to live, earn, create, and build freedom.”
Why We Started Enterprise for Kids
As our thinking expanded, so did the way we raised our children.
We began diving into everything we could learn about money, business, investing, leadership, raising children, and personal growth. We explored affiliate marketing, online business, blogging, inner work, and reshaping our value systems. Enterprise for Kids became one of our very first blogs and a place to record what we were learning as a family.
This website grew out of a desire to do two things:
capture our family’s journey
help other families and educators who were also looking for a different path
In many ways, Enterprise for Kids became the home of our family entrepreneurial journey — a place where family life, enterprise, money lessons, and raising entrepreneurial kids all came together.
[Button: Explore Our Story]
A Family Life Full of Enterprise and Adventure
Later, we moved to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, a tiny, very remote tropical atoll in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It was a beautiful and adventurous chapter of life, full of outdoor pursuits, connected community, and rich cultural experiences. During this time Kit and then Chayse were born.
When we returned to mainland Australia and sold the farm, we entered a season where Enterprise for Kids gained real traction. Cathy and I were immersed in programs and training around money, investing, entrepreneurship, leadership, and personal growth. As we learned, we brought those lessons home to our children.
We encouraged them to create, sell, invest, lead, dream, and step outside their comfort zones. The dinner table conversations changed. The questions got bigger. The possibilities expanded. Raising entrepreneurial kids became something we were living every day, not just thinking about in theory.
“As we changed, our family culture changed. What we were learning became part of everyday life.”
Learning by Doing
Our children did not just hear ideas about enterprise — they lived them.
They created tiny businesses, sold products they made, attended workshops, explored investing, learned about money, and grew in confidence through real-life enterprise experiences. We played financial board games, set bold goals, created vision boards, bought silver, later explored crypto, and encouraged creative problem-solving and initiative.
As teachers, we also brought many of these ideas into the classroom. One of the most powerful examples was a classroom economy that allowed students to experience wages, jobs, investing, loans, taxes, business ownership, and opportunity in a hands-on, practical, and purposeful way.
We wanted our children to understand that life could be approached like a game that can be played in so many different ways. We wanted them to see money as an energy and a tool that can help create freedom, adventure, health, and ease. We wanted them to understand that business and investing can create value and offer alternatives to simply being an employee. And we wanted them to know that entrepreneurship begins with belief.
[Button: Raise Entrepreneurial Kids]
Big Adventures Shaped Our Family Too
Adventure became part of our family culture.
At one point, we took six months of long service leave, flew our whole family to the United States, bought a 10-berth motorhome, and travelled the country together. Akaisha was only six months old at the time, and Kaitlin was 15. This adventure taught our children about the world, and it bonded us deeply as a family. They experienced volcanoes, snowboarding, underground railroads, Disneyland, bears, and coyotes.
Looking back now, we can see how much those experiences shaped our children. Their independence, creativity, courage, and love of travel did not appear out of nowhere. Those seeds were planted early. Adventure and enterprise became deeply woven into the way they saw life and possibility.
Where Life Has Led Today
Enterprise for Kids began more than 15 years ago. Today, our children are no longer little.
Some have built businesses. Some are writing, travelling, creating, investing, teaching, and working online — forging their own unique paths. Each has carried something forward from those early years: confidence, initiative, independence, creativity, and the courage to think differently. Our children surround themselves with good people, are not afraid to question, and want to have a say over their own destinies.
Today, we live in the small coastal town of Augusta in Western Australia, with our youngest, Akaisha, still at high school. Chayse is at home, and our other children are living in various places, building lives and ventures of their own. Kaitlin is married to Tully, and together they have given us two beautiful grandsons.
We are immensely proud of each of our children, of the paths they are taking, and of the life we have built together as a family. Looking back over our family entrepreneurial journey, we can see that the seeds planted in childhood have continued to grow in ways that are both meaningful and inspiring.
[Button: Meet Our Enterprising Kids Today]
Why This Site Matters to Us Now
Cathy and I are now more focused than ever on building our own enterprises, investments, and next chapter of life. We are still on the journey toward greater freedom. We are in a season where we can be more creative, and we are excited about the projects we are working on and the adventures still ahead. Revamping Enterprise for Kids is part of that journey.
This site matters to us because it is:
- a record of our family’s journey
- a place for our children and grandchildren to revisit their story
- a resource for parents and educators
- a way to honour the mentors and experiences that shaped us
- a platform for the next chapter still unfolding
“This is not just a story about what happened years ago. It is a living story, and we are still writing it.”
What We Believe
Over the years, we have come to believe that children are deeply shaped by the people, beliefs, and environments around them. We believe entrepreneurial thinking is about far more than business — it is about creativity, confidence, initiative, resilience, leadership, courage, and learning how to create value in the world.
We believe children benefit from healthy, practical money conversations, and that families and educators can play a powerful role in helping young people think differently about their future.
Most of all, we believe that when children are given encouragement, experience, and belief, amazing things can grow. Doors open that may never otherwise have seemed possible.
[Button: Read Our Family Enterprise Stories]
Thank You for Being Here
Whether you are a parent, educator, grandparent, student, or simply someone who believes children deserve a broader vision for their future, we are glad you are here.
We hope our story gives you ideas, encouragement, and a sense of possibility for the young people in your own life.
[Button: Start Here]
[Button: Read the Blog]
[Button: Get in Touch]
