Kidpreneurs

It’s never too early to launch

Whether it’s minding a humble lemonade stand, baking treats for a local coffee cart or breeding chickens to sell to pet stores, the Kidpreneurs of the Hunter aren’t afraid to try new things.

The benefits of talking early with your children on the basic principles (and infinite rewards) of entrepreneurship are massive. Not only will you be giving them the tools and techniques to make it in a global economy, but you are setting them up for future success in this brave new world that rewards creativity and determination.

A kidpreneur reflects the entrepreneurial spirit - seen as an innovator, they are forever looking for new ideas, aren’t afraid to try new things and inevitably work hard to get what they want.

The exciting thing is anything is possible in this digital day and age. Just look at Steve Jobs.

To foster Jobs’ entrepreneurial spirit and initiative, parents need not become expert coders or tech savvy inventors themselves, but rather instil the fundamentals of entrepreneurial thinking early on in their children.

Although the younger generation will probably never know the feeling of accomplishment that came with earning your pen licence, it is a fact most are already coding before graduating primary school.

It’s so important to help kids grow their own micro-enterprises from a grassroots level, fostering their natural talents or interests and offering a gentle nudge to pursue what makes them smile. The most successful entrepreneurs of our time - think Richard Branson or Oprah Winfrey - have made their mark out of doing what they love.

To think like a mini entrepreneur, it’s not as simple as earning pocket money for toys or treats. The kidpreneurs take a chore or task, look at how they can incentivise, create or meet market demand, expand and eventually end in world domination. That’s the difference between kids that simply earn pocket money and those that are destined for greatness.

So how do you encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship in children? Inspiring the next generation could be as simple as planting the right seed. Use examples your children are already doing and guide them into thinking bigger. Igniting that entrepreneurial spirit starts at home.

Take walking the family dog for pocket money as an example. By encouraging your kids to look outside the confines of their own home, they will find opportunities to expand to the next step and will soon enough be walking the neighbours’ dogs, while offering diversifying services to meet market demand for their growing client base. Pretty soon a simple chore of walking the dog has turned into a thriving mobile dog wash outfit.

Or perhaps in undertaking chores like helping cultivate the family’s vegetable patch, the idea to sell or trade produce could yield their very own neighbourhood fruit and vegetable business out of the family backyard.

Give kids the tools and techniques to make it in a global economy and they become not only able to exist in this brave new world, but thrive in it.

The most successful entrepreneurs of our time all have the same lesson to impart and that’s to never give up on an idea that you love.

After all if you like it, chances are others will too.