HOW TO PROMOTE POSITIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP FOR KIDS AND TEENS
Oct.2016
It’s here! One more year…
9th Annual Acton Children’s Business Fair
Nov.2014
Last weekend I went to the Children’s Business Fair organized by Acton Academy North School in Round Rock (Austin)
Althouth this video is about a previous edition, the spirit was the same: calling all aspiring young entrepreneurs ages 6 – 16 to showcase their business and have an opportunity to learn from themselves and from others!
Several months before of the fair, kids had the chance to develop a brand, create a product or service, build a marketing strategy, and then open for customers at their one-day marketplace. Great idea and great job!
For a long time I’ve been reflecting on the need to educate children about business and other concepts like this. And after two years living in this country I have understood that entrepreneurship is about much more than business and money:
- It is a way of thinking, of seeing opportunities and of exploring multiple solutions to a problem.
- It means to learn essential life skills, including resourcefulness, communication or managing risk.
- It also means to become a determined, confident, creative, self-motivated, innovative, curious and visionary person.
There are a lot of interesting articles and resources, but you can check here some of my favorites 😉
- 5 Signs From Childhood That You Were Destined to Be an Entrepreneur.
- Kidpreneurs: Young entrepreneurs with big ideas.
- Bizkids: The place where kids teach kids about money and business.
- Cameron Herold’s conference: Let’s raise kids to be entrepreneurs.
- The Startup Kids.
Lisi, your post is very on point and I am glad that educators of young people like yourself recognize the importance of thinking ‘entrepreneurially’. As someone who has had the opportunity to start multiple companies, I fully believe that developing curiosity, problem solving, and a lack of a fear of failure in our children is key no matter what they decide to do in their adult lives.
Seeing a problem, being obsessively curious about and dedicated to the solving of it, and not being dissuaded by not getting it right the first time are the key characteristics of most of the successful entrepreneurs I know – and the vast majority of them would credit the roots of these traits in their childhood.
No doubt that homework by the book is needed, but if children do not develop the frameworks with which to process information, react to it, and move with action (in other words think!) then they will limit themselves in the types of endeavors they will be able to tackle.
Exposure to entrepreneurship is one excellent way to do this, as I would argue is any activity that a child immerses themselves into – whether that is the study of music, a passion for cooking, or a myriad of other activities that feed the imagination.
Great work with the blog. Keep it up!
Fully agree Shawn! Thanks for sharing your feedback : )