Entrepreneurialism is not confined to the adult world. On the contrary, with their creative minds and determination, children can make excellent entrepreneurs. Check out the following do’s and don’ts for parents or child entrepreneurs.
Parenting a Child Entrepreneur – Do’s
Do Be Supportive
From inventing a fabulous new product to writing a book or selling lemonade, if your child comes to you with an idea for a business, it is important to be supportive. Avoid ridiculing or dismissing the idea, which could discourage your child from starting a business venture. Instead, show enthusiasm and support and take the subject seriously.
Do Provide Your Child with The Tools Needed to Get Started
You can take this level of support further by ensuring your child has the tools needed to get the business off the ground, providing you can realistically afford the tools! For example, if your child wants to start his or her own cookie stand, provide the ingredients as well as the assistance in the kitchen needed to make mouth-watering cookies nobody can resist!
Do Encourage a Business the Whole Family Can Get Involved In
If you child is interested in setting up a business but is unsure which venture to become involved in, encourage a business siblings and the whole family will be able to participate in. For example, selling candy is a popular business for children and one you and siblings could get involved with, collectively coming up with a unique candy product you could sell at the local market, supermarkets or online.
Do Teach Children About the Value of Money
If there is one thing many successful entrepreneurs have in common, it’s being good with money. While you don’t want money to be the sole focus of a business venture, teaching your child about the value of money and how to save up and turn small sums of money into larger amounts, would be an invaluable lesson for successfully setting up and running a business.
In his book‘Kid Millionaire: Over 50 Exciting Business Ideas’, author Matthew Eliot informs youngsters about how to cash in on their great business ideas.
“Start small — but think BIG. Start saving and investing now, and you could be a millionaire before you know it.”
Do Take Your Child to Business Events
To help your little ones pick up entrepreneurial skills early on, take them to business workshops and events where they can pick up business skills and knowledge.
Virtual Enterprises International, for example, helps youngsters pick up important skills by setting up virtual businesses in classrooms where students run hypothetical businesses using real-world concepts.
Parenting a Child Entrepreneur – Don’ts
Don’t Let Money Be the Sole Focus
Of course, making money is the primary aim of all business but you shouldn’t let money be the sole focus of your child’s business efforts. Instead, focus on the benefits the business will have for others or the community.
A lesson can be learned from Mikaila Ulmer, founder and CEO of Me & the Bees Lemonade, who, at nine years old, enthralled viewers of ABC’s reality show ‘Shark Tank’ when she walked away with a $600,000 deal for her lemonade business. Much of Ulmer’s success was due to the value of honey and how she could make this classic drink healthier. The monetary value came later on.
Don’t Dismiss a Farfetched Idea
Kids have fantastic imaginations and this creativity should be encouraged and utilized to formulate fantastic business ideas. No matter how farfetched your child’s business venture might sound, avoid quashing it as nonsense because it could discourage your child from coming up with other business ideas in the future.
Instead, show enthusiasm for the idea and work with your child to attempt to rework the idea into a potentially feasible business.
Don’t Be Afraid to Show Your Child How to Market a Business on Social Media
When it comes to social media, parents generally try to keep their children away from it until they reach a more mature age. However, with the selling potential social media affords, marketing on social platforms is an activity no small business can afford to ignore.
Rather than trying to shield your children, show them the marketing potential of social media and other online activities. Teaching them how to use the internet to sell products while staying safe online could be an invaluable lesson in their business ventures — and in life!
Don’t Avoid Challenging Your Child
Children, like many adults, need to be challenged in order to reach their full potential. You can constructively challenge your children in a business sense by introducing them to other successful entrepreneurs and business owners.
Don’t Say No!
Rather than bluntly saying no when your child asks you if he or she can sell pumpkins outside the house at Halloween or set up a cake stand at the local fair, encourage the entrepreneurial spirit.
If it’s not convenient immediately, find a time when your youngster can pursue his or her business idea and have a responsible adult present.
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This article, “Do’s and Don’ts for Parents of Child Entrepreneurs” was first published on Small Business Trends