Читать книгу One Thousand Ways to Make a Living; or, An Encyclopædia of Plans to Make Money - Harold Morse Dunphy - Страница 96

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A man who was state agent for a concern that failed, was left without money, and there were no positions open for him. In earlier life he had been a stenographer, while his wife had taught school for a number of years before their marriage. As a traveling man he had noted the incompetency of many stenographers, especially their ignorance of business principles, and often commented on this to his wife.

In their dilemma, the wife suggested the establishment of a shorthand and business school combined, but they had no capital as a basis upon which to begin operations. The husband still had the small office he had used as state agent, in which were two desks, a few tables, chairs, etc., and the wife suggested that these could be used to begin with in a small way. She at once began taking shorthand lessons from her husband, took up typewriting at which she made rapid progress.

They secured two or three students by personal solicitation, and the wife began teaching them shorthand and typewriting, though she was only one lesson ahead of them, a fact of which the students remained blissfully ignorant. The husband took charge of the practical business course of instruction, and the pupils made rapid progress, for they were being taught along right lines.

In the meantime, the wife did her own housework, took care of the children, sewed, cooked, and performed all the household duties, while looking after the progress of her pupils, attending to her husband’s correspondence, etc. By using practical methods of instruction, they turned out very competent classes, and soon found it necessary to increase their facilities by moving to larger quarters and adding to their equipment, besides hiring additional teachers in the various departments. Today they have a prosperous business and shorthand school.