Here Are Some Tips On How To Become A Successful Young Entrepreneur & Prepare Your Children For The Future They'll Create For Themselves One Day:
1. Encourage Their Curiosity
Being curious is characteristic of every successful entrepreneur. Asking questions and understanding the world around them enables children to become critical thinkers and problem solvers. They can then go on to find better solutions and systems to improve existing societal crises. A good way to encourage their curiosity is by asking them questions like - Why are clouds not a defined sphere? Why do birds fly? Why do flowers smell? Their answers will amaze you and the activity will improve their thought process. Picking up hobbies also enhances children’s inquisitiveness.2. Say Yes To Their Creativity
As science and technology continue to evolve, creativity becomes more and more valued in society. Encourage children to play, explore, be creative and think outside the normal parameters of doing things. One of the ways to do this is by letting them make their own bedtime stories on 2-3 nights of the week. You can give them ‘cues’ such as some items in the room that they must include in their story.Another way to help children be creative is by tapping into your own hobbies and interests as parents. Children tend to model whatever they see happening around them and genuinely get inspired by their surroundings. Pick up your old hobby again, not only will it make you feel better, but it will also encourage your child to try it out.
It is important to remember that when children get into their ‘zone’ of creativity, they tend to make a mess. Messiness is a part of the process of creativity. So, accept the mess but also set boundaries for your child such as designating a space in your house where they can play and do as they please, and clean up later.
3. Support Their Passions
It’s not unusual to hear “cricketer”, “policeman”, or “astronaut” when you ask children what they would like to become when they grow up. While these professions are not impossible to achieve, children often grow up and leave these career dreams behind. As parents, it’s important to support their passions and let children believe that they can achieve anything. When we encourage them to chase their dreams, they are better able to set and pursue challenging goals in the future, even if they don’t end up becoming cricketers and policemen.4. Accept Them As They Are
When children are allowed to be who they want to be, they blossom. Accept them as they are and let them know how great they’re doing. This will strengthen their self-acceptance and self-worth and they will also learn to accept others the way they are. When people are comfortable being themselves, they are more likely to follow through with their ideas without having the fear of being judged.5. Train Them To Recognise Opportunities
Train your children to look for opportunities that will help them in some way (like earning money, or solve a problem for others, set an example)if they pursue it. Once they are able to do this, they can pursue bigger opportunities in the future. As they recognize opportunities, they will also learn negotiation while trying to set quotations for their product or service.Author and Entrepreneur Cameron Herold’s first business came from his interest in comic books when he discovered an opportunity for comic book arbitrage in his teens.
6. Teach Them The Importance Of Money
Financial literacy is something that is hardly taught in schools today. And yet, it is one of the most important values of entrepreneurs. Teach children the importance of money and train them to make savings. An allowance teaches them to prioritize their ends with only limited means at their disposal. Entrepreneurial life requires daily hustle, so if you want to raise future entrepreneurs, you must prepare them for volatile work life. Encourage them to look for small business opportunities in the house or even the neighborhood.Educate your children about saving and investing money from a young age so they don’t have to struggle to form those habits later on. Give them two piggy banks or bank accounts and encourage them to save 50% of their earnings by teaching them how to effectively budget their expenses.
7. Encourage Problem Solving
A good leader knows the importance of focusing on finding solutions, instead of blaming the problem. Children must be trained to solve problems right from the beginning. When asked to complete a task, they often find shortcuts to do it or simply do the bare minimum. Ask them questions like “Are you happy with how you have done the job?” or “What could you have done to make it even better?” This encourages children to be thoughtful and reflective on how to do a job more efficiently.Furthermore, encourage them to find solutions to their everyday problems such as not being able to reach the top shelf in the kitchen, or not being able to get ready on time for school.
8. Challenge Them
As much as we want to protect and pamper them, children need challenges to grow into strong people. So, don’t let them win every game, let them place their own orders at restaurants, or speak to people on the phone for details on an event, let them explain their discomfort to the doctor, and so on. Some tough love will help them understand that the world does not revolve around them and these small challenges will teach them powerful lessons that will go a long way to make them resilient entrepreneurs in the future.9. Teach Them About Hard Work And Resilience
The entrepreneurial life is depicted as way more glamorous than it is. Successful entrepreneurs aren’t afraid to put in the work because they know that hard work is required for their businesses to take off. Help your children understand the importance of hard work by giving them important responsibilities and pushing them to do the work to get good results. Children must also be taught that failure isn’t the end of the world. Resilience and the ability to push past setbacks is a quality of all leaders.10. Let Them Talk In Front Of People
Make your children stand up and talk in front of people. This may be friends, family, or even the neighbors - as long as it’s an audience. Encourage them to perform in plays, elocutions and read out stories. Entrepreneurs have to give presentations and sell their ideas to people they don’t know. The sooner children get comfortable with the idea of public speaking, the more confident they will be when they grow up to become entrepreneurs.11. Teach Them To Give Back
Understanding the value of giving back is essential to develop your children into socially conscious entrepreneurs and individuals. Encourage your child to help those in need and volunteer in local NGOs. Giving back will help them to remain grounded even when they experience great success in the future and will also help them be happy and content with their lives. Additionally, they will learn that a good business always supports a cause or charity and benefits more than just the owner. When brainstorming business ideas, ask them to think about what cause they would like to contribute to their earnings.12. Teach Them The Importance of Planning
Children today have a lot on their plate and they often struggle completing their tasks. As an entrepreneur, this could mean missing good opportunities and even losing money. Help your child master the art of planning and time management from a young age. Calendars and planners are great tools to help organize life efficiently.Raising children with these tips in mind will help them develop into the natural entrepreneurs they were born to be. We all have a role to play in raising the confident and revolutionary entrepreneurs of tomorrow that will help provide better and innovative solutions to a lot of problems.
Written By- JBCN International School
