8 Effective Ways to Teach Your Kids to be Entrepreneurs

Now that you are an adult, you just realized that most skills required in your present job were not taught in school, and this is a hard fact. Most schools do not emphasize the qualities or skills needed for an entrepreneurial role. As a parent, you have the power in your hands to educate your child with the qualities and skills fitting of a business person. Even if your child may not be the next Mark Zuckerberg or Bill Gates, fostering an entrepreneurial mindset and attitude will immensely help them acquire life skills and financial lessons that aren’t taught in school. So, the question now is “how to teach your child to be an entrepreneur?”. Read along as we give you an insight on teaching your child to be an entrepreneur.

Importance of teaching entrepreneurship to children

Think about how good it would have been if entrepreneurship was taught or even exposed to you at a younger age. Even if you didn’t become a CEO or a successful entrepreneur, you would have profited a lot from the lessons and skills on entrepreneurship. So, do your children a favour by involving them in entrepreneurial activities that can tremendously help them acquire skills and lessons not only fitting in the business world but also to all aspects of life. Here are the reasons why it is important to teach entrepreneurship in children

Develop a professional work ethic

When children are taught or exposed to entrepreneurship at a younger age, they will develop a good work ethic. It is important to have this skill, especially if your child becomes a successful business person in the future or even as a loyal employee. They will come to appreciate and understand the value of hard work and dedication wherever they are.

Stronger appreciation for money

By teaching your kids entrepreneurship at an early age, they will have a stronger respect for hard-earned money. So, they will not just squander away money without thinking again and again because they know that money just doesn’t grow on trees, they are earned through hard work.

Improve creative thinking

Commencing or expanding business isn’t just a walk in the park. You will have to face a lot of bumps and hurdles along the way before you get to where you want. By exposing your children to the setbacks and challenges of entrepreneurship, you will be teaching them how to creatively think of a way to pass through it, which applies not only to entrepreneurship but to all aspects of life.

Better goal setting

Kids are well-known to start something bold yet move on without even finishing it. in-between their excitement to start and finish something, the child loses his interest and sense of purpose, thus, stopping without even finishing it. By teaching your child entrepreneurship on his/her formative years, your child can develop a better goal setting, one that is achievable at the same time realistic.

8 Skills that will improve entrepreneurship

Here are the 8 skills to teach to your children to help improve entrepreneurship:

Resilience

In the business world, it is not always a success. Many business persons encounter rejections and failures even on a daily basis. Teach your child to be resilient and to face every failure with a positive mindset.

Hard work

Even the most successful entrepreneur started working out in the trenches of a company. They are not troubled to do grunt work because they understand its importance in making the business successful. Teach your children the importance and value of hard work. Assign them important responsibilities not just to keep them busy but to teach them the value of industriousness.

Creativity and Innovation

Help your children think of solutions or ways outside of the box by giving them room to explore by themselves. Allow them to create their own narratives and stories to help them become excellent communicators.

Curiosity

Allow your child to roam around and satisfy their curious minds. Let your child explore new hobbies or allow them to read books to gratify their curiosity which will do a lot in the future.

Empathy

No one wants to work with an entirely selfish person. Help your child develop a sense of empathy towards others. Teach them to look at the best side of every people they encounter and to put themselves into their shoes to understand that person better.

Optimism

Having an optimistic outlook will encourage a person to look at the brighter side of things and to hope that their visions will turn into reality. Stir optimism in them by sharing uplifting and inspiring stories.

Self-confidence

Motivate your children to become confident of themselves. This skill is important not only to entrepreneurs but for all, especially when applying for a job or proposing a project. Give them assurance rather than making them feel guilty over their failure.

Giving back

Teach your child the value of giving back, especially to those in need. Tag them along when you volunteer for charitable works. Encourage them to help especially those who need help.

Here is a video with some great tips on how to teach your kids entrepreneurship

Successful and Famous Kid Entrepreneurs

In order to inspire the younger generation that anything is possible, here are stories of 10 successful and famous kid entrepreneurs to get some inspiration (source: https://www.kebloom.com/blog/10-inspiring-kid-entrepreneurs)

Ryan Hickman

Ryan Hickman was only 3 years old when he started researching recycling, its benefits and the impact that he himself can make when getting himself involved in solving the ever-growing problem of waste. It didn’t take Ryan much time along with the help of friends and family Ryan set up his own business, Ryan’s Recycling. Since then, Ryan, aged 9, has received global recognition for his hard work and has scaled up his business, having an immeasurably positive impact.

Jalen Bailey

Jalen, at the age of 10, grew up baking with his mother in the kitchen. Back then he never knew that that passion was going to lead to him starting up his own business, namely, Jalen’s Bakery. Jalen has a great heart and believes strongly in philanthropy and has initiated efforts to raise money for those less fortunate. As his business grows, as does Jaden’s willingness to make a change for better

Erik Finman

As a child, Erik Finman was often bullied in school, both emotionally and physically. A particularly mean teacher reportedly joined in, advising the Idaho native to “drop out and work at McDonald’s as he’d never amount to anything.”

Erik eventually dropped out of school, but not his education. He built his own innovation from home, using a computer and an Internet connection, and called it Botangle (a combination of “robotics” and “angle”). “I created this side project to kind of save myself,” he said before a crowd at a WIRED event for young innovators last year. “Its mission is to replace the public education system because of my really terrible experiences in it.”

Bella Tipping

Bella Tipping was barely out of primary school when she had the sudden light bulb idea to start up her own travel website that offered a unique difference. This novel travel website, Kidzcationz is a kid-friendly site, taking the youngest travellers opinions into account as they rate and review accommodation. This ingenious idea giving families greater insight when it came to planning and booking their travel and holidays.

Morgan Hipworth

Morgan Hipworth, also known as ‘doughnut king,’ is a 17-year-old turning a passion for baking into a profitable business venture. Morgan was in primary school when he began pursuing his pastry passions, the result being Bistro Morgan! Morgan has since been featured on multiple news networks, Shark Tank, and has collaborated with many other businesses and well-known chefs. He continues to work day in and out to make this doughnut dream, his reality.

Children’s / Teenage Business Ideas

As a teenager or even as a kid there are plenty of business ideas to try out. My son who is 12 years, recently learnt how to create videos and started his Youtube channel. He has since then moved onto social media consulting where he designs and creates content for Pinterest and Facebook.

Benefits of Starting a Business at a Young Age

• Learn to think on your own feet, make your own decisions and be accountable for their outcomes
• Gain confidence in making business decisions and working with clients
• Learn business practices such as investing, keeping track of income & expenditure and basic accounting
• Spend time and effort on something they like
• Earn extra pocket money or even a living once the business is established

Here are some great business ideas for the young. You can offer them as a service within your immediate family, the community or among your school friends/families or the suburb you live in.

• Pet Sitting
• Photography
• Baking
• Arts and Crafts – such as using a selection of colourful beads for necklaces, bracelets, key chains, headbands, and more.
• Gardening/Landscaping
• Cleaning
• Social Media Consulting
• Web Design

Conclusion:

We have tackled all the important aspects of how to teach your child to be an entrepreneur. Teaching entrepreneurship to your children at a young age will not only hone them to become successful entrepreneurs when they grow up but also teach them to become a better person. These lessons are not really emphasized in schools. That is why it is your job, as a parent, to prepare your child by teaching these important lessons and skills to help them become successful in the future.

Kids Growth Mindset Journal

Want to teach your child to have a growth mindset? Click on image to check out the following growth mindset journal.

Check out Growth mindset activity puzzle for kids

This growth mindset puzzle is designed to help develop a growth mindset in kids and teach them the key life skill. Check this out by clicking the image below.

References:

1. John Rampton, 9 Ways to Teach Your Kids Entrepreneurship Early in Life, Link here

2. Samuel Edwards, 5 Benefits of Teaching Young Children About Entrepreneurship,

Link here

3. Nadya Khoja, 8 Entrepreneurial Skills Your Kids Need to Succeed in Life and Work

Link here