While I do believe children need the basic education they attain from school, one thing that we should never assume or rely on is that the school system will our children entrepreneurship. That is our responsibility.
And if you really examine the situation, a high percentage of educational professionals may not have experienced the entrepreneur lifestyle. If they were to teach our children entrepreneurship, it would all come from books and research with no experience integrated into the mix.
I have always believed the best teacher is experience, so teach your children from your experiences… From your heart.
Here are 8 tips to help you teach upcoming generations.
Teach Our Children Tip #1: Goal Setting
This step is a priority!
Have your child write down 5-10 goals they want to achieve. Now have he/she choose the one goal that they put above the rest.
Work with your child to write down the steps they need to take to achieve that goal and encourage your child to start taking those steps.
Teach Our Children Tip #2: The Lemonade Stand
This old system is a great way to teach children entrepreneurship. But so many parents simply send the kid out with a pitcher of lemonade and some glasses and say “go to it.”
Why not take it further?
First, explain the cost of making that lemonade and how much he/she should charge to make a profit. Next, teach your child some good marketing methods and customer service. You may even want to instill some ideas that can be used as promotions to drive more customers to their stand:
- A free cookie with 2 glass purchase
- Child in a costume
- Etc…
Teach Our Children Tip #3: Allow Your Child To Be A Part Of Family Financial Discussions
Children learn a lot by listening and asking questions.
When you are discussing finances with your spouse, don’t send your child off to their room; allow them to sit in the conversation. You may be discussing where to go and how to save for the next family vacation.
Ask your child’s input. You may be in for a surprise when they explain ways to save for that vacation you hadn’t considered.
Teach Our Children Tip #4: Promote Reading Related Books
There are many great books written for children that teach entrepreneurship. I suggest you promote reading lists for your children in this area.
As you are reading an adult business related book, invite your child to sit and read their entrepreneur book that you gave as a present.
Teach Our Children Tip #5: Show Them How To Focus On The Solution Rather Than The Problem
Your child comes to you with a problem…
“Dad, there is a cricket in my room that won’t let me sleep.”
While many parents would just bypass the issue or go find and kill the cricket themselves, the wise parent who wants to teach his children entrepreneurship will say, “Okay, we need to figure out how you can solve that problem. What are some ideas you have to get the cricket out so you can sleep?”
Instead of focusing on the problem, you have turned your child’s focus to solving the problem.
Teach Our Children Tip #6: Allow Failure
This is one of the most difficult parts of teaching our children entrepreneurship. We want them to succeed at everything, but that is impossible.
We all fail at some things and the best way to teach children is by allowing them the opportunity to fail.
“Mom, I found a car that I have enough money saved for. I looked at it and I drove it. It is only $500 and it has some rust, but it seems to run good. I want to buy it.”
This is when you give your opinion but still allow your child to make the final choice.
“Son, $500 sounds risky and did you ask what other problems it has? I believe you should save more money and buy a more reliable car. Do you want me to look at it? No matter what honey, I will support your decision.”
When the car breaks down, which will probably happen, you don’t say I told you so. You go back to tip #5.
Teach Our Children Tip #7: Encourage Inquisitiveness
As I stated earlier, children learn by asking questions. Teach your children that no question is stupid and invite them to attempt to answer their own question before providing the answer.
Teach Our Children Tip #8: Independence
The idea is to show them how to attain what they desire through their own creativity and not being dependent.
Instead of handing your child that $5 bill when they ask, show them how to brainstorm methods to earn that $5. This teaches them independence.
Conclusion
These are just a handful of ways to teach our children entrepreneurship. I will cover more in upcoming posts.
Let’s help our future find success. These are ways to do just that.
Another great way to show them is allow them to learn how the Expense Tracker works. This tool I developed helps you keep your finances straight and helps find tax deductions you may not had used before.
You can get the Expense Tracker here.
I hope these tips help you teach your kids.
Let me hear your feedback; you can post it below.
Thanks and have a great day.
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