One With Everything would be a terrible title for a theological book, but not to worry, this one is about family entrepreneurship!

Mike Cheney quit his soul-sucking job as a business executive and started a hot dog stand in order to spend more time with his family. “One with everything” became a strategic upsell in their family business, Dogs on the Run.

Hence, the name of the book.

The experiences of multiple entrepreneurial families deliver the bitter with the sweet, balancing expectations with reality in the world of owning and operating a family business.

From teaching music, selling farm produce, landscaping, window cleaning, real estate and more, 34 chapters provide an honest look at the highs and lows of apprenticeship, mentorship, and entrepreneurship from a Christian perspective.

Thinking of business ideas is the easy part; following through when times are tough is where the rubber meets the road. No business start-up truly ever fails, however; there are invaluable lessons to be learned in the process, even if financial viability is never attained. Shari McMinn lists several in Chapter 12, A Family of Entrepreneurs. Among them:

• Accountability. Do your job, respect your boss, help others.
• Delayed gratification. Work toward a goal and then be rewarded, not before.
• Diligence. Stay on task, work at a steady pace.
• Duty through obedient productivity. Life is not all fun and games.
• Honesty. The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
• Integrity. Do the right thing even when no one is looking.
• Perseverance. Complete the project to the end, no matter the challenge.
• Initiative. Look around, see what needs to be done, and do it.
• Humility. Confess your own shortcomings; ask for help when you don’t know or can’t do something.
• Grace. Give each other a wide berth. Assume the best, don’t gossip, and forgive quickly.

Following instructions, problem solving, verbal and written communication, and dependence on the Lord to provide are just a few important life lessons operating a business affords.

I have two criticisms of this book.

I would’ve liked to have seen the author explain why Christians should strive to excel in business. What is the purpose of making money? Accumulating material wealth that will one day fade away is not man’s chief end. In my opinion, there was a missed opportunity to emphasize an eternal perspective.

All that we have, we have received (1 Cor. 4:7); properly stewarding the resources God has given us means using and multiplying them for the advancement of His Kingdom on earth.

Secondly, the formatting of the book seems hastily put together. Some contributing authors poured their heart and soul into their stories, and others appeared to offer the bare minimum. Little editing was done to ensure chapters were of proportionate length, and there is no proper conclusion to the book.

Nevertheless, the content itself was valuable, and if you have a highschooler with a God-given entrepreneurial bent, One With Everything will simultaneously stoke that flame, and give pause for wise considerations. Engaging and informative, each chapter ends with a series of helpful questions that created many lively discussions during our Morning Basket Time.

I’d recommend it to your family library!