Growing up, this quote would float around in schools and homes a lot—”Children are like clay, you can shape them in any way possible.”
Usually, there are two kinds of entrepreneurs—entrepreneurs who work hard and develop skills creatively, courage, confidence, leadership over time, and prodigies.
One could argue that successful entrepreneurs and business people today have exhibited outstanding attributes since they were young, like open-mindedness, competitive spirit, and the ability to lead. However, entrepreneurs are not born; they are made through patients, perseverance, and hard work.
The day and time we live in today belong to the entrepreneurs. Thanks to the Internet, no information is too far-fetched. Anyone and everyone can just go on the Internet and search for things they want to learn. This has not just given people the ability to understand complex topics but has also given kids the opportunity to learn new things on their own every single day.
Things To Remember
Before starting anything, there are a few things that everyone should understand. Which are:
- If your child does not want to be a business person, they don’t have to.
- You cannot force your child to be something you want them to be.
- You are nurturing and encouraging entrepreneurship in your kid, not forcing them on.
The Essene Of Entrepreneurship In Kids
The debate over if entrepreneurship is born or made will never stop. It is a widespread fallacy for us to believe that entrepreneurs are born. However, it’s not usually the case. Of course, some entrepreneurs exhibit exceptional entrepreneurial skills passed down to them from generations. But the majority always wins.
Let us take an elementary example. The United States of America is one of the leading countries in entrepreneurship. The answer to why the United States of America is one of the top countries in entrepreneurship can be straightforward.
The answer to this question can be, why isn’t XYZ country one of the leading countries in entrepreneurship worldwide? Think about it, why does not Nepal produce more and more entrepreneurs every year? Is it mainly because children do have not much freedom and independence to pursue what they want? Not many curriculums and advancements to teach them how the market work?
For decades and centuries, Western countries have been encouraging their children after a certain age to go out in the world and earn their living. This “earning my own living” turns into breakthroughs for children most of the time. They become more independent in their own ideas. For example, someone might put up a lemonade stand outside their home, culturally passed down for ages. Some kid might start their own babysitting business, some kid might create their own dog walking business, and many more.
Entrepreneurship is not always genetic. While there are still examples of entrepreneurs born with a golden spoon and a genetic lottery, most entrepreneurs are made.
5 Ways To Nurture Entrepreneurship In Kids
1. Reward Creativity
Most of the time, the creativity the kids’ exhibit is labeled as undisciplined. Especially in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being creative is punished. A child draws unique sketches and doodles on the wall – the results? The kid is punished, and their creativity is wholly ignored.
A child dresses up and does amazingly flawless makeup – the result? The child is labeled as dramatic and someone who is too conscious about their looks. Not creative. For anyone looking towards nurturing entrepreneurship in kids, it is very essential that you understand creativity. It is imperative to reward children who exhibit creativity in their day-to-day life. And it is even more critical for parents and guidance, and supervisors to be able to recognize that creativity is hiding in plain sight.
2. Give Your Child The Space To Brainstorm
Brainstorming is essential to generate a fantastic idea, and along with brainstorming, the space to brainstorm is equally crucial. So, let us say that you understand entirely how creative your child is, and you want your child to thrive – who wouldn’t? In doing so, you ask your child to brainstorm an idea.
When you ask them to brainstorm, you tell them to generate ideas then and there. The funny thing about unique ideas is that they’re not like instant noodles. They cannot be made within two minutes. Ideas need time and patience to form. It is key to the creative process that there is a lot of space and patience going with the pictures. Therefore, you need to give your child the freedom to brainstorm. Of course, every child has different needs and time to generate an idea, but that does not mean that you would be sitting on the tail and not giving them the much deserved and needed space.
3. Set Goals
Goals are essential – goals are crucial as they help you figure out a way. In business and entrepreneurship, goals are set before and followed afterward. It is necessary to teach your child why goal-setting is essential. You must show your kids how to formalize plans to make it easy to handle business-related things and their personal lives.
It is said that the codes that are written much before you start working on them are the goals that succeed in the future. Therefore, you must teach your child how to set short-term and long-term goals and the difference between them. One of the easier ways to encourage them to set goals is by setting short-term goals in the beginning, to be easier to achieve long-term goals later on.
4. Teach Them Financial Literacy And Financial Independence
Teaching children about money from a young age gives them a more vital ground in finance. Encourage your kids to keep journals and or Excel sheets of their pocket money use. The small things can help them become more financially literate and independent.
When children become financially independent and literate from a young age, they become more confident in handling their money and finances later on in life. Help them be more independent by encouraging them to participate in local appointment opportunities like tutoring other kids or offering dance classes, or simply offering to teach things that they are good with. This will help your kid become more financially dependent and help them generate more confidence in who they are and how they work with themselves.
5. Learning From Failures
It cannot be over-emphasized how much teaching kids to handle failure is. One of the most important jobs as a parent is to teach your child the value of loss and failure. It is not just going to help them cope with the things they cannot achieve at a young age but will also help them in the future and guide them.
Most individuals, particularly the younger generation, do not accept failure as a part of the learning process since they regard it as the end of their existence. However, as an entrepreneur, failures will be faced left and right. Therefore, it is essential to understand and deal with them.
Conclusion
One of the best ways to nurture creativity and entrepreneurship in kids is to let them be kids. Understandably, you would want the child to achieve the best in the world as a parent. However, it is imperative to let children be children and who they are and not have this exceptional weight to be an adult.
Saying that nurturing entrepreneurship in kids is all about being there for them, helping them through their struggles – teaching them not doing it for them, and helping them learn from their experiences and the experiences of others.
