Teaching children how to be entrepreneurs at an early age is a great way to encourage them to be self-sufficient, even it it’s starting out with something as small as a lemonade stand or a summer dog-walking business. Being an entrepreneur can also teach kids about money, success, failure, communication, and even the importance of perseverance. Entrepreneurial skills can seem somewhat specific at first, but upon closer inspection, you will see that these skills are very beneficial for all aspects of your children’s lives, not just in the business world.
Financial Literacy
One of the most important lessons you can teach your children is how to be financially literate. It is difficult to get by in the world today without knowing how to handle money. However, when schools cover this lesson, it tends to fall short of what is really needed to develop this skill. Children need to learn that the money they earn, no matter how large or small the amount, has value and can contribute to their success as an entrepreneur.
- Break the Bank
- Money Responsibility Activity
- Jobs and Earning Money Lesson
- Teaching Children Money Management
Self-Motivation
Self-motivation is a challenging skill to instill in most, much less kids. However, success in school or business is contingent on a person’s ability to stay motivated, even when things get hard. One of the best ways to teach kids to be self-motivated is to have them earn what they want. If your child asks for a new toy or game, work with them to come up with a plan for jobs they can do around the house or for a neighbor to earn the money themselves. Not only will your child learn the value of hard work, but they will learn to stay motivated through their own desires.
- The ABCs of Self-Motivation
- Eight Ways to Encourage Self-Motivation in Your Child
- Motivation and the Power of Not Giving Up
- How to Get Kids to Do Boring (But Necessary) Tasks
Goal-Setting
Goal-setting is a large part of entrepreneurial success. An entrepreneur needs to set goals in order to know how to successfully grow their business. Your kids can get discouraged, however, if the goals they are setting are too far out of reach or too vague. Working with your kids to set smart goals is important. This means that the goals they set will be specific and achievable in a timely manner. Having goals that meet these criteria is crucial for making sure kids are successful in achieving their goals. Consistent progress with their goals ensures that your kids will be motivated to keep setting them.
- How to Help Your Child Set and Reach Goals
- Goal-Setting Fable: The Three Bulls
- Goal-Setting/Vision Activity
- Setting Smart Goals Activity
- Hot Shot Business Game
Teamwork
Teamwork is an inescapable part of life. At any given point in their life, your child may have to work with a team, be it on a school project or in a work environment. In the position of an entrepreneur, your child will need to work with others in order to make sure that their business is successful. But working with a team can be difficult when everyone has different ideas and different styles of work. Playing team-building games with your kids and their friends can help your children develop the cooperation skills necessary for success.
- Eight Team-Building Exercises for Children
- Let’s Work Together: Teamwork Lesson and Activities
- Common Ground: Teaching Kids the Benefit of Working Together
- Team-Building Games to Play
- Three Fun Grammar Activities to Encourage Teamwork
Failure
Failure is hard to tackle whether you are an adult or a child. Not achieving a goal, or having a plan fall through can be very discouraging, especially for a child. However, each failure presents a new learning experience for an entrepreneur. In fact, the most successful entrepreneurs know that while failure can be a brief setback, it can also provide information that will benefit them in the future. It is important to teach your children to look at failure with the same positive spin if they are to be successful entrepreneurs.
- Talking About Failure: What Parents Can Do to Motivate Kids in School
- How to Help Kids Learn to Fail
- How to Teach Children that Failure Is the Secret to Success
Communication
Communication is another important skill that your children need to learn to be successful. An entrepreneur deals with many people, from their own team to their clients. Being able to communicate effectively can help make sure work gets done efficiently and client needs are met without confusion. Communication can be tricky in the same way that teamwork can be tricky: People have different communication styles as well. Teaching your children to learn how to communicate with people will be instrumental in their success both in school and in the business world.
- Ten Ways to Improve Your Grade-Schooler’s Communication Skills
- The Big Book of Conflict-Resolution Games
Lead by Example
Teaching your children these skills can be challenging. However, the best way to show your children that these are vital skills for success is to demonstrate them yourself. If you are financially literate, are a good goal-setter, take failure well, etc., then your kids will learn to follow your example. Having strong role models who set good examples for success will help ensure that your children know how to be successful in anything they undertake.