Start them Young! How to Cultivate the Young Entrepreneur
I remember very clearly my first trip to the principal’s office. I was in the second grade and in trouble for “stealing other kid’s lunch money”. As much as it sounds like the calling card of a bully, I can assure you it was nothing like that. It was the early 80’s and jelly bracelets were all the rage. (Does anyone remember these?) It just so happened that my Mom and Dad had a hobby of shopping the flea markets for deals- used tools, bulk socks, old furniture that could be repurposed- the usual flea market fair. As I wandered the aisles with them I found a small corner chocked full of jelly bracelets. I used my allowance and bought 10 for $1. The next day at school everyone wondered where I had gotten my unique glittered jelly bracelets (they were usually solid colored). By the end of the day, I had several orders to pick up more when I went back to the flea market. Using more allowance, I went back and bought more and then sold them to the other kids at school for $0.25 each. Things were going great until parents started wondering why their kids were coming home starving. Evidently, they were using their lunch money to buy my bracelets and not eating lunch. So there I was- in the principal’s office. My Mom went to bat for me and I promised to close down shop. My entrepreneur days were over until about 20 years later when I rediscovered my calling.
I can’t help but reminisce on this as I watch my 5 year old son try to sell our old washer and dryer at a neighborhood garage sale. He’s opening the doors, pointing to the motor telling her it’s “super big” so it’ll run “super fast”, and that she’s lucky it’s in white-“the best color ever!” He ends with, “So do you want it? I can help put it in your car?” The poor girl is trying not to laugh at his persistence and I step in to save her. As I admire my little salesman, I wonder - how are entrepreneur’s raised? I tried to think back to what shaped me as a child and encouraged my early jelly bracelet enterprise. I’ve put together some lessons that are excellent for cultivating young entrepreneurs.
Visit Flea Markets
Ah, the memories…Flea markets are great for learning the art of negotiating, how to measure a “good deal”, and how to work with all kinds of different people. If you don’t have a decent flea market nearby, farmer’s markets, garage sales, and auctions are all great alternatives as well. Encourage your child to try his luck at bargaining. Try the “buy one get the second half off deal”, ‘”it’s damaged, can I get 20% off?”, and “this is all the money I have, can I have it for $X instead?” Real-world experience negotiating beats anything you can read in a book.
No Allowance
Allowances may have been started as way to compensate for good behavior, but it has been reduced to just being a day that Mom hands over some money. As long as you didn’t get in trouble five minutes earlier, you were getting the handout. This reminds me of an employee doing the bare minimum day in and day out knowing full well they will still be getting a paycheck on Friday. In contrast, offering to pay your child for completing extra chores provides an instant reward for hard work and encourages them to look for more opportunities. They will soon learn that the harder and smarter you work-the more rewards you receive.
See You at the Top
When I was in school they offered an optional “I CAN” course based on a book by Zig Ziglar, called “See You at the Top.” Most of the values I learned in that course are still with me today. Key topics are turning “I Can’t” to “I CAN”, eliminating “Stinkin’ Thinkin’”, and that its not “aptitude, but attitude” that determines success. While I don’t believe the courses are still available today, the book certainly is. They have a 25th Anniversary edition available at most major book stores and his timeless premise of “you can get everything in life you want if you help enough other people get what they want” still rings true today. Lots of kid-friendly stories that will help drive home the importance of honesty, loyalty, faith, integrity, and strong personal character.
Play Games
Games are a tremendous opportunity to introduce and reinforce business lessons. Some top titles include Monopoly, Mall Madness, Payday, and PIT (if you’re not familiar with the titles just google them). All of these games teach respect for money, how to earn money, and how to make decisions that will give you the best return on your investment. Successful strategies are rewarded as the “winner.” Other ways to teach the skills of entrepreneurship include Chess, RISK, and CLUE. All of these games emphasize strategy and the importance of having a calculated plan for executing your attack. Another great game that can be played solo and is easy to take along is a book of logic problems. These “problems” ask the player to use logic to deduce answers and search for clues that can solve the mysteries. The amazing deductive analysis of Sherlock Holmes is a great example of this in action.
As you try some of these lessons gauge your child’s interest. If they can’t seem to get enough, praise their efforts and cultivate your young entrepreneur’s need for growth. If they could care less, give them a break and let them find their own pursuits. Each day my son shows more and more interest in “what mommy does”. I plan on encouraging him and welcome his curiosities. If he loses interest and decides a career as Batman would be more interesting, no worries. He might be right!
Have an idea to add? Comment below or email me at heather@momscanlaunch.com
July 18th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Heather, I really enjoyed this post. My wife and I are both serial entrepreneurs and I work with a consulting firm that focuses on start-ups. We are constantly asking ourselves how we can instill entrepreneurship and good money management skills into our little girl.
One of the things that we work hard at is watching the way we talk about money. We are very careful to never say that we can’t afford something. We also try to link “thinking and creativity” to money so our little girl understands that if you use your mind as well as hands it brings you money.
I showcased your article on my most recent blog post. http://www.startitupcafe.blogspot.com
August 13th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
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December 9th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Sounds a lot like my childhood; i knew my parents were money conscious so I decided i would be too. Seeing people making money at the grassroots level like flea markets inspires kids that they can do things like make lemonade stands, find golf balls at the local course and sell them or mow lawns.
Saw this on Twitter, btw.
-Matt Wilson
January 24th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Like the previous commenter Joe Clark, we are also very careful in how we talk about money. The first time my husband said something was, “too expensive” I punched him lightly on the arm and gave him “the look.” We talked about it later and even though he doesn’t believe anything really is too expensive (it just takes longer to save for) it’s all too easy to slip and say the easy, short thing to the kids so you don’t have to explain the whole thing about saving.
But now we suck it up and explain that they have to save and nothing is too expensive and it’s about priorities, not immediate gratification.
June 8th, 2009 at 11:32 am
Heather,
Great post! Just last night I was telling my wife I want our kids to never have to work for anyone. I hope and pray that they try and make their own way in life. I’m 31 and I’m fully aware that the days of getting a “secure job” and working their for 30 years are over. Never before have companies seen their most valuable assets, employees, as being so indespendable. It’s not that this is neccesarily bad, but it’s a changing world and if you don’t change with it then you get left behind.
As a public speaker most of my speech topics have been teaching kids the proper mindset that will automatically give them the advantage as they get older. Kudos on your post Heather and I look forward to reading more from you in the future.
June 12th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Heather,
Great post! Great ideas, too. Some I will be using for my own. I guess, though, I am not so mad that my 13 year old was trying to rent out his video games to his friend for $3 a week as a “trial before you buy” and if his friend liked the game he would buy it. I got so mad at him for doing that, but really all he was doing was getting creative on how to earn money and buy new games. I guess he gets that from me and his dad as we are both owners of online stores. I probably should be encouraging him in a positive manner and maybe taking the opportunity to give him more information. Thank you for allowing me to look at things from a different perspective! Also the part about the allowance is so true. They have come to expect the allowance and only get a decrease or none when they don’t perform well at school or get in trouble.
I look forward to more blog posts!
June 22nd, 2010 at 12:47 am
there are many ways to earn money, all you need to do is work hard and work smart.-`:
July 22nd, 2010 at 7:51 pm
there are many ways to earn money, all you need to do is become very creative.*”-
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:59 pm
there are many ways to earn money, all you need to do is become very creative.`~”
September 9th, 2010 at 5:28 am
there are lots of ways to earn money on the internet, one of them is monetizing your blogs`*;
August 8th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
Allwetterreifen
September 22nd, 2011 at 7:49 pm
Good article , I am going to spend more time reading about this subject
October 9th, 2011 at 4:22 am
Wow, I’ve a weblog as well but I can’t write at the same time as you do. Fine stuff.
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