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One of the things I enjoy about being a franchise consultant is the ease with which I feel in connecting with recent franchise candidates. We tend to have a lot in common, and one of the missed motivations for starting a business is to be a role model and leave a legacy for your children.
As a father of triplets who similarly made a profession change towards entrepreneurship, I understand first-hand the need to prepare my children for an ever-changing skilled landscape. But where do you begin?
Below I’ve put together a list of suggestions for getting your kids involved in business.
1. Join school clubs
Encourage children to get involved in school business clubs. Resources available in highschool may include DECA (American Distributive Education Clubs) i FBLA (America’s Future Business Leaders). These clubs encourage highschool students to experiment in various areas of business and compete at local, regional and national levels in sales, marketing, finance and other business-related areas.
One of my daughters joined the DECA club at her highschool, in addition to a business program called HATS. Until highschool, she had never worked outside the family home or been exposed to a profession that will ignite her interests. After joining DECA, she immediately found her calling. With our encouragement, she entered the scary (for most youngsters) category of skilled sales. Ultimately, she won the Missouri DECA state competition and continued to compete in the national competition. She learned that there are areas in business with barriers to entry, where there is less competition, leaving room for innovation and growth.
2. Start young
Encourage entrepreneurial pondering in children at the youngest possible age. If they need to start a lemonade stand, automotive wash, etc., join us! It will probably be a little bit of a hassle for you to make this easy at first, but it’s going to help them imagine earning their very own income and plant the seeds of opportunity. Additionally, a basic understanding of the economy, that creating income takes work and effort, is an invaluable lesson they’ll take with them.
It’s essential to remember: not every child will probably be entrepreneurial. However, even if they do not have an entrepreneurial spirit, no matter their profession path, experience in how to deal with and deal with customers will profit them in the future.
3. Facilitate mentoring connections
As children grow up, it is essential for them to learn from business opportunities that are not their very own. We all want children to be independent, but they’ll need assistance to get their foot in the door. Help them find their first job and exercise your network so your children can gain real work experience.
For example, we use our family connections to help make presentations. One of my daughters, who is interested in business, did two internships, one at a sign company and the other at a real estate company. My other two daughters have developed relationships with neighbors that have provided them with mentoring opportunities. One of the neighbors owns a craft company, so my artistic daughter got a job there and now teaches classes for children at summer camps. Another neighbor, who is a nephrologist (kidney doctor) in private practice, gave one other daughter (who hopes to pursue a profession in medicine) the opportunity to shadow him.
Letting their interests shape the opportunities they pursue also teaches them that there are successful firms in very different industries.
4. Teach them to strengthen their funds
An empowering lesson you possibly can start at a young age is how to be a responsible consumer. When my children were little, we began “Dad’s Bank”. Each of my daughters received $2 a week in allowance, which I checked on my phone. The only place they’d purchasing power was the local Dollar Tree, so most weeks they talked me into taking them. I allow them to browse the aisles and select an item that they may purchase with their very own money (it was noted that I could be sponsoring the sales tax). It was amazing to see how quickly they learned some essential lessons.
First, they couldn’t select multiple toys – they’d to select something that was inside their $2 budget. Secondly, the $1-2 dollar toy was not of the highest quality and broke steadily. Third, if they resolve to skip the purchase one week, the next week they’ll have twice as much money to buy a higher toy or could save in the long term.
Now that they are graduating from highschool, it has turned into a family joke and someone often “sponsors” the Starbucks run. We have also moved them from smart spending to saving, investing and managing their very own bank accounts as early as possible.
5. Contributing to the whole
We have all the time taught our children the value of contributing to something greater than yourself. Two areas that we consistently emphasize are the collective family and the local people.
Contributing to the collective family may take the type of performing household chores or leading a family project. In addition, engaging children in the local people is extremely valuable. As an entrepreneur, you would like an abundance mindset that won’t focused inward. From an early age, charity and volunteering create time and space to support their volunteering activities. Finally, it is a family value to help friends, family and neighbors when nothing is expected in return.
6. Encourage them to pursue leadership opportunities
Whether it’s school clubs or organizations, encourage your children to campaign and take them seriously. Many students may feel intimidated taking on leadership roles until they get into the weeds.
My daughter organized a successful campaign for DECA president and proudly led the chapter, mentoring younger students. These leadership experiences support your child’s goals and build self-confidence while clarifying the fear behind exposure. Win or lose, these experiences help build skills corresponding to conflict resolution, leadership and responsibility.
Ultimately, there is no one-size-fits-all way to teach kids about business, but if you are looking for some practical ways to get began, consider trying some of the following pointers.