How to Support Your Child if They Choose to Pursue a Career in Entrepreneurship
Even at a young age, your child may already be planning to become a successful company founder. A survey conducted by EY Ripples and JA Worldwide revealed that 55% of Gen Z members—kids born between 1997 and 2007—are already planning to start their own business within the next ten years. These young digitally savvy individuals have been dubbed collectively as the ‘DIY Generation’, and researchers credit their early exposure to technology as a major factor that’s empowering their entrepreneurial spirit.
Though the young guns are definitely loaded with drive and creativity, they do need your help and encouragement. As their parent, your role is to provide support in pursuing their dreams of becoming the next great startup founder — here’s how you can begin:
Help Them Find Their Niche
Is your kid interested in opening a lemonade stand on your curb or starting a lawn-mowing business with their pal? Aside from the traditional kid-appropriate jobs, they might also be interested in exploring the online space too. Online reviews and unboxing videos have become popular even among very young streamers like Ryan Kaji. And with a little bit of creativity and tech-savviness, they can definitely make a buck out of it.
But if your child is already showing an artistic flair, organizations like Fresh Artists or Create Now can mentor them in developing and exhibiting their talents in visual arts, digital media, or even writing. But if they’re not sure what they want to sell or offer as a service yet, that’s okay! Support them as they try out different things until they find their space and discover their unique proposition.
Invest in their Entrepreneurial Education
With ever-changing consumer trends and marketing strategies to consider, your child needs to learn to keep up with the world of business! If your child is still in their tween years, steer them towards YouTube for quick tutorials or business advice. Tune into the 60-second marketing videos of CCO Jamie Turner or get business tips from business guru MarieTV. You can also sign them up for entrepreneurship learning programs like Junior Achievement USA or BusinessTeens.
Once they get older, they can pursue a career in business in a more traditional manner: by going to school for it! Do note that with the proliferation of online business administration degrees, they can take advantage of greater flexibility and affordability without sacrificing the quality of their business education. These degrees are up to industry standards, so you can guarantee that your fledgling entrepreneur is learning fundamental business skills and evolving trends from qualified instructors. Regardless of their choice of school or specialization, encourage them to pursue a degree in business if they want to have a good foundation for their future.
Teach Them Important Skills in Money Management
It may be hard for your child to find capital to get started...and you may also be hesitant to provide a lot of funding without the guarantee of a return. Rather than seeing this as a roadblock, consider this challenge as an opportunity to get more creative with their business. It is something they will have to do later on, but on a much bigger scale. For now, they can sell some of their things or offer a few services to neighbors so they can generate some capital. A hundred bucks can be a good amount, and it will already let them design a website on Weebly where they can advertise their business. If that’s not an option, Facebook and Instagram are great alternatives free of use. That way, they can allocate their capital towards buying supplies for their small business — which, again, is another skill they’ll need to develop in the future.
Encourage the Right Mindset for Failure and Persistence
Warren Buffet persisted in selling chewing gum as a child before he became Berkshire Hathaway’s CEO. Similarly, your child needs to have enough patience and perseverance to thrive in the tough world of business. Saving up to have enough capital is already tough, but your child may also encounter painful experiences like customer complaints and rejections when they start selling anything. As their parent, it’s important to teach them how to carry on despite the setbacks. Ask them what they learned from the experience and what they can do better so that they can turn negative experiences into opportunities for improvement. All of these lessons are important especially once they step into the real world of business in the future.
Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy, but it does help when your loved ones are ready to support and help you. Believe in your kid’s dream and support them, so that they can become the kind of entrepreneur that they aspire to be.
Article contributed by Rosie Joles
About the Author
Rosie Joles is a stay-at-home mom training to become a licensed planning family consultant. She lives with her partner, three beautiful kids, and two cats.