Teaching Kids Entrepreneurship
Teaching kids entrepreneurship should be a requirement in schools/homeschools today!
Why do I feel so strongly about this?
Because cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset and learning entrepreneurial skills aren’t just for those who want to start a business … they are things that can be applied in so many other areas of life and can unlock your children’s full potential as future contributors to society!
Teaching kids entrepreneurship means teaching kids:
- How to set goals and work diligently to meet them
- Leadership and communication skills
- The power of delegation and teamwork
- How to deal with others
- How to create solutions to problems
- How to develop innovative thinking
- How to understand risks/rewards
- How to think critically about investments
- How to identify opportunities
- Independence and agency
- How to handle and manage money
And so much more.
Entrepreneurial skills will serve your kiddos one day whether they choose to go into business for themselves or choose to work for someone else.
And these are skills that can be used even outside of employment/vocation … which should be important for those of us who are Christian families wanting to raise up a generation of leaders who can take back/shape culture; who will one day be light-bearing influencers in their communities.
Entrepreneurship has always been a big part of our own family’s homeschool journey. Below I’m sharing practical ways and resources to do the same in yours!
Tips for Teaching Kids Entrepreneurship
1. Read books, watch films, and talk about inspiring entrepreneurs who have impacted the world the live in.
For example, my kids love their technology (I mean, truly, where would we be without our computers and smart phones?!). So we learned about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and their part in bringing computer technology into the lives of everyday people.
Studying entrepreneurs has helped inspire them that ordinary people can impact the world in such a significant way through building businesses that enhance society’s living or provide solutions to problems.
2. Cultivate a solutions-based paradigm.
When my kids have encountered problems or challenges, instead of stepping in as the solution, I’d encourage them to be resourceful and think of ways they could solve the problem.
For instance, when they were unable to reach something on the counter when they were little, instead of always grabbing the item for them, I would often encourage them to find the stool, bring it to the kitchen, and use the stool to be able to reach the item they wanted (except when it had to do with knives, LOL).
As they got older, if they wanted to purchase something but didn’t have enough money, instead of saying, “Oh well, you don’t have the money, too bad,” or – on the opposite direction – stepping in and just buying the item for them, I challenged them to think of ways they could come up with the money. Could they sell things? Could they maybe offer services to friends, family, neighbors in exchange for pay?
As parents, it’s easy to think that caring for our children means often stepping in and getting them what they want (we think we are simply helping them out). But the true help comes in cultivating a resourceful, solutions-based mindset.
3. Encourage goal-setting.
We do this both annually and quarterly with what I call our homeschool compasses. But we also do this when they are wanting to make extra money (as I mentioned above).
Creating goals is an important life skill, whether you are an entrepreneur or not. But did you know that, according to this article, 84% of people do not set any goals?! I mean, that kind of explains a lot, not gonna lie.
It’s not enough just have goals, we need to write them down and have a plan of action. I love asking my kids what they’d like to accomplish in a certain time frame and help them reverse-engineer so that they can break down those goals accordingly.
Goal-setting is important because it helps direct activity and encourages productivity and perseverance!
4. Let your kids try out entrepreneurship (keep scrolling for ways we have done that).
Giving your kids a chance to start their own little hustles is a great way to make goal-setting come alive. It gives them a real-life opportunity to work, which helps grow independence and confidence!
As well, when they try out entrepreneurial activities, they have to learn how to deal with and communicate with different kinds of people, which is another important life skill.
While most of my kids’ business encounters with others have been great (there are a lot of encouraging and supportive humans out there, thank God!), my kids have had to also deal with some challenging situations.
- They’ve had to learn that partnering with friends isn’t always a great idea because not everyone wants to put in the same amount of work and so they learned to be more discerning when choosing to partner with others.
- They’ve had to deal with adults who can ask hard, grill-like questions, and learn to stay composed and unafraid.
- They’ve had to grow in the art of selling and persuasion when they would get discouraged when lots of traffic would come by their booths, yet no one would make a purchase (by the way, selling is not a bad thing; we all “sell” as part of life … for example, when you are applying for a job, you are selling yourself as a good candidate for that employer).
The Ways Our Kids Have Tried Entrepreneurship
When my kids were younger, they loved to hold their own yard sales and lemonade stands in front of our home. They’d make signs, set up shop, and hoot and holler for passersby to stop by, LOL.
Later on, they each tried different little ventures. One kid had a little jewelry business. Another kid had a made-to-order baking business. Another kid had shoe cleaning business.
But the main way my kids have been able to exercise entrepreneurship skills has been by participating in more organized and widely-marketed events held locally:
- The local alternative program my kids have taken classes at hosts an annual kids market for families to shop at. Maybe you can introduce this same idea to your local homeschool co-op.
- Our farmer’s market invites kids to participate as vendors one weekend a month throughout the spring and summer. If your community doesn’t already host something like this, there’s an organization called the Acton Children’s Business Fair that will help you get one started!
- Our town recently held a community swap meet with a dedicated kids zone, where my girls set up a booth for 2-days to sell the things they had made.
Check to see if your area has something like this! Not only do they serve as a great way to apply entrepreneurial skills (preparing inventory, determining pricing, marketing, sales skills, etc.) but they are also a ton of fun!
I love the more “official” and organized aspect of markets, because they help foster a sense of professionalism that, quite frankly, isn’t there when you’re just slingin’ your stuff in your front yard, LOL.
Resources for Teaching Your Kids Entrepreneurship
Here are some of the resources I’ve utilized in our homeschool for teaching kids entrepreneurship (this post contains affiliate links that I may earn a commission from):
Kid Start-Up: How You Can Be an Entrepreneur
This book will help your kiddos discover a winning idea, launch their business, and start making money! It also reminds them that they don’t have to wait until they are grown-ups to launch their start-ups.
Think Like a Boss: Kids Edition
My youngest literally has this book on her nightstand and looks through it every night. It’s great for kid who are looking for creative ways to make money.
In Think Like a Boss: Kids Edition, you will discover:
- That nothing is impossible!
- Compelling ways for kids to become a millionaire within a few years
- 47+ fully mapped-out ways for kids to make more money than their parents
- Fun ways for kids to make money online and offline, while still living their childhood
- Guidance on how to make money and become very successful, even they aren’t computer junkies
- The key ingredient for success
- The exact skills your child is going to gain with every single one of these 47+ jobs
- Bonus chapter: compelling ways your child can upgrade their finances to become truly successful
Kane Miller’s Entrepreneur Academy
This is a hands-on activity book for kiddos interested in starting a business. They will learn how to test their ideas, stand out from the competition, become a great manager, and give back to the world through the activities in this book.
Usborne Understanding Business
We love homeschooling with Usborne Books! The Understanding Business book is packed with info and graphics that are engaging for young minds.
Gather ‘Round Homeschool’s Entrepreneurship
We only used the Teacher’s Guide for Gather ‘Round’s Entrepreneurship curriculum; simply read and discussed together. What we loved about this specific study were the various entrepreneur profiles that were featured before each chapter and their contribution to whatever the topic of that chapter was.
If you have teens (even entrepreneurial tweens), The Roadmap Course is a comprehensive, step-by-step, self-paced e-learning course that will teach you and your children EVERYTHING you need to know about starting and growing a business. This is equivalent to a 2-semester college course that you can give assign high school credit for!
All three of my kids are currently going through the 100+ modules and are applying the knowledge and skills they are gaining in their own entrepreneurial ventures.
- Baby Sis is in the middle of creating a digital products business (she is creating things like digital journals, templates, and even a kids devotional).
- Big Sis is using the social media marketing tutorials to grow her YouTube channel, where she has started linking affiliate products to her content.
- Big Bro started a motivational theme page on Instagram and plans to eventually monetize it when he gains a certain number of followers. He also is gaining all the wisdom needed for launching his own apparel company, which he is currently in the market research phase of.
If you are looking for an entrepreneurship curriculum that doesn’t just teach about entrepreneurial theories and principles, but one that will actually take you from concept to launch to growth, this is the course you want!
Lead by Example
While I know our primary calling and vocation is to teach and train our kiddos, I just know there are mamas just like me who have always had an entrepreneurial spirit! Or are simply looking for ways to earn an income from home while they spend their days living life and learning alongside their kids.
Also, what better way to teach what entrepreneurship looks like than to model that for our kiddos?!
I, myself, have had different business … from a mail-order invitation business (pre-kids), to a brick-and-mortar maternity/baby store (when we were starting out family), to being a writer for my blog and a speaker (the last several years), and now as a freelance digital marketer!
Over the years, my children have witnessed me pursue entrepreneurial ventures, which I believe is one the biggest contributing factors to why they also possess an entrepreneurial spirit and mindset. The great thing as homeschoolers (especially as unschoolers) is that moms pursuing entrepreneurship doesn’t have to interfere with our kids’ education! In fact, it can be a training ground for THEM as well, when you invite them into your activities (just like children apprenticed under their parents not too long ago in history)!
If you, yourself, are interested in become a digital marketing mompreneur like me, you can learn for free with my beginner’s guide.