Does talking to children about entrepreneurship at an early age
make sense? Our school system is set up to lead our children into the
workplace as employees, not employers. Now don't get me wrong, we as a
society definitely need employees: police officers, firefighters,
doctors, nurses, etc., but why not shine some light on entrepreneurship
too?
Incorporating
the principles and philosophies of success with emphasis on teamwork,
community involvement, and entrepreneurship go well with all types of
learners of varying ages. Children deserve the opportunity to at least
hear about what entrepreneurship is, why they may want to be
entrepreneurial, when they could do this and, of course, how to be an
entrepreneur. We find that children are very responsive when talking
about making money on their own. As early as six years of age, children
are starting to realize the importance behind making your own money vs.
working for someone else. Unfortunately, not enough children in the
world are being introduced to this kind of lifestyle. So below you will
find some great tips, in no particular order, to help introduce your
child to entrepreneurship.
1. Story Time
A great way to get
your child started is by sharing with them inspiring stories of kids
today, who are already entrepreneurs. The internet is a great resource,
making available great stories about kid entrepreneurs from around the
world, what they are doing right now and how they are doing it. When
sharing inspiring kid entrepreneur stories ask your children questions
like: How did they do that? Why did they do it? Do you think you can do
something like that? What makes you feel that way? If you get an answer
like "I cant do that," then just follow up with "Well, if you could do
that, how would you do it?" This usually gets an answer. Oh, and don't
forget to show your kids pictures, watch video's or check out news clips
of kid entrepreneur's. Its also quite effective when kids hear the
stories right from another kids mouth.
2. Field Trip Fun
Contact
local businesses, churches or news agencies to see if you could arrange
for your kids to visit with them and get a behind the scenes look at
how the particular business operates. Approach businesses that hold a
high interest level for your kids. Let the places know that your
interested in a behind the scenes look at their business operations for
your children and their friends who are learning about entrepreneurship.
I highly recommend that you bring your children's friends too, so you
all can enjoy the experience together and so that your child has like
minded individuals to discuss their findings with.
3. Raising Some Bucks
Have
a fundraiser for a cause that is very important to your child or have
them pick products they think they can sell either in the neighborhood
or to local businesses. Let your kids bring in some of their friends
that want to be a part of the action. Have them brainstorm ideas and
narrow the list down to a few that they all agree on. Assist them in
organizing the timing and the locations they conduct these "business
meetings."
4. Make Planning Fun
Start planning with your
kids. For the younger kids create a plan book from scratch, even some of
the older kids can get into this too. Design it however they want. They
can add stickers or make fancy title pages within their planner. The
point here is for them to personalize it as much as they like. You can
even pick up an inexpensive planner for their use. Talk to them about
the importance of using the planner daily, and getting into the habit of
planning for each day the night before. Explain to them how this will
start to free up more time for them to do the things they want to be
doing, instead of just doing the things they have to be doing as they
become more focused. In addition to a planner/goal book, have children
create a journal as well, writing down brief entries into a personal
journal on a daily basis of things that interest or perplex them is a
great way to get them started with being responsible, planning for their
future, and allowing them time for natural, real world problem solving!
5. Use Your Imagination
Go
online or to your library and search for wonderful places around the
globe that you would love to visit sometime in your life. Have the kids
look through books or at websites. Take notice as to what types of
places intrigue them the most and talk about those places. Ask them what
they would have to do in order to get to visit these wonderful places.
Have them search how much it would cost to fly there if you were to
leave today. What could they do to raise enough money for a trip like
that? What other expenses may they encounter planning for a trip to that
location? If its something they really want to do have them list it in
their journal as one of their goals and then start to list all the
things they need to do in order to reach that goal.
6. Break Out the Seasonings
Sharpen
you children's sense and general memory by playing memory
games/puzzles. Play silly and fun games like "Identify that smell" or
"Name that object" where children are paired off in teams and try to
identify blindfolded certain odors or identify what object they are
touching without being able to see it. Not only is it fun but it will
also help enhance the brain performance of its participants. Thereby
increasing creativity and problem solving abilities, two key ingredients
in becoming an entrepreneur!
7. Don't be shy
I know that
there is a lot of old fashioned parents out their that think that the
household finances should be top secret and not discussed with children.
When it comes to bill time or any time money needs to be discussed,
don't be shy. Share with children the expenses and income you manage
each month and each year. Show them the bills you pay, how much they
are, and when they are due. Explain to them how you make your payments
on these bills. If you write checks to pay them, then have them help you
with that. If you pay some of your bills online, have them help with
that too. Don't be shy, show them how you balance your checkbook and
keep track of your finances. If your not sure how yourself, research it
online or at the library and learn it with your children. You would be
surprised as to how many kids are actually interested in learning how to
pay bills, balance a bank account, or even create a budget...and it
increases their interest in math by giving them purpose for learning the
subject!
8. Try Something Different
Have a "what I want to
be when I grow up" party with your child and their friends; where
everyone comes to the party as what they want to be when the grow up.
Children play the role and parents encourage by catering to the
children's needs. You can give prizes to the kids for acting their parts
and encourage the role-playing. This will help them see themselves now
as they could potentially become in the future, bringing the feelings of
success of what it would feel like. By the parents catering to the
"grown-ups" needs, the kids get the idea of what respectful/professional
treatment would seem like when they actually reach their goals.
Conclusion
These
unique tips are a great starting point to introduce entrepreneurship to
children. Informing children at an early age about entrepreneurship
gives them more time to really find within themselves the things that
they want to do in life. The things that make them happy. Many
successful people agree that part of success is doing the things you
love to do. The more time children get to explore different things (with
this future awareness in mind) the better chance they have of finding
their true passions and going forward with it successfully.
