5 Steps to Organizing a Pitch Competition for Young Entrepreneurs
A fun and engaging way to teach entrepreneurship to youth is to host a pitch competition for young entrepreneurs. Organizing and holding a pitch competition for young entrepreneurs is a great way for kids to get the word out about their potential business ideas and...
I’m Bored – Summer Entrepreneurial Activities for Kids
If you are a parent, you have probably heard the two words “I’m Bored”! One way for kids to prevent this and earn some money during the summer is to start a business. With school just getting out it is a great time for them to learn about entrepreneurship and...
7 Lifelong Skills Kids Learn Through Entrepreneurship
If you are teaching entrepreneurship or thinking about it, you most likely already have an idea of how it can empower kids to use their unique talents to solve problems and make not only their world better but also the world overall. But one thing that often is...
How to teach entrepreneurship virtually and still keep it fun!
Now that most of us have been teaching virtually for several months and are comfortable with the platforms we are teaching on, I thought I would share some tips that I’ve incorporated about how to teach entrepreneurship virtually and still keep it fun and engaging....
Can Teaching Youth Entrepreneurs Save our Communities?
Can Teaching Youth Entrepreneurs Save our Communities? This is a question, I want you to reflect on as I illustrate the trend that is happening to small businesses in our communities. How many of you have a favorite restaurant, coffee shop, fitness center or yoga...
Why Summer Camp is a good idea for your kids
updated: 9/10/2020 Did you love summer camp when you were a kid? (I sure did!). Some of my favorite memories as a kid were from summer camp. I loved staying in a tent or cabin, slurping slushies, singing songs, making s’mores and learning all kinds of new things by...
Are you ready for Teaching Entrepreneurship this Fall?
It sounds like a lot of schools, organizations, and conferences, are still having to teach and share their content in a virtual environment. So, if you are teaching entrepreneurship, one of the subjects that is truly better learned in person, how do you convert your...
The Top 10 Things I learned from Teaching a Virtual Youth Entrepreneur Camp Live via Zoom
When COVID-19 started causing many activities to be cancelled or changed to being virtual, I was not sure if I was going to be able to hold our in-person summer youth entrepreneur camp. Entrepreneurship is one of those things that you learn best by doing. As it got...
Making Lizard Soap – 13 Business Ideas Kids can Start during “Safer at Home”
Even though we know it is for the good to be “safer at home”; if you are anything like myself or my family – we are all getting a little stir crazy. Did you ever imagine that at the beginning of 2020, this is what our year would be like? This is the perfect time for...
Mini-preneur to Entrepreneur Activities for Kids at Home
This blog post, Mini-preneur to Entrepreneur Activities for kids at home, is dedicated to the parents who want to share some fun entrepreneurial lessons with their kids at home. Right before the world changed due to COVID-19, I was preparing for our local Children’s...
7 Ways to Implement Youth Entrepreneurship Education in Isolation
7 ways to implement youth entrepreneurship education during this time of isolation due to COVID-19.
5 Reasons We All Should be Cultivating Young Entrepreneurs
There are many reasons that cultivating young entrepreneurs makes sense. As I have recently been working on a TEDx talk I’m giving later this year; I realize how important it is to start teaching and mentoring kids about entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial...
Buying the Perfect House to Accommodate Your Dream Home Office
Thank you to Tina Martin from Ideas Inspired for this guest post! I know many of you may not be looking for a new house but I wanted to include this post because it does include many things that you might want to consider when and if you are going to update a room or...
New Ideas Come From Being Able to Ask The Right Questions
To come up with new ideas and solve problems you have to pay attention to your surroundings and ask the right questions.
Set Yourself Up For Success by Setting Goals
Setting yourself up for success by setting specific goals that give your brain a plan. Then create a task list and put them on your calendar so that you increase your odds of achieving your goals.
Great Books for Aspiring Young Entrepreneurs – Part 1
This a recommended list of books for aspiring young entrepreneurs.
To Come up with New Ideas, You Need to Start Paying Attention
If you want to come up with new ideas, you need to slow down and pay attention.
10 Great Gift Ideas for the Young Entrepreneur under $50
10 great gift ideas for young entrepreneurs under $50 to help them get their business going, keep it running and growing.
Can you Tell the Difference between Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners?
I have recently been working on a talk about how teaching young entrepreneurs can help keep our communities going as the boomers retire and move on (will post more on that topic soon). When I was presenting the talk to some of my entrepreneur friends, they commented...
How Your Small Business Can Thrive in a World of Retail and Service Giants
Guest Post by Marissa Perez of Businesspop.net Ecommerce offers opportunities for small businesses that have never existed before. However, it also comes with its challenges, including competition from the giants — such as Amazon, Apple, Walmart, and Target — that...
How to Start a Youth Entrepreneur Program
One of the most frequent questions I get about youth entrepreneurship is, “How do I start a youth entrepreneurship program?" People would find me on the internet from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Small Business Development Center Youth Entrepreneur Camp page...
How to Teach Business Using Experiential Learning Activities
How to teach entrepreneurship using real life experiences. This article includes the activities used in the More Than a Lemonade Stand Youth Entrepreneurship curriculum. The two activities include the Biz Ops Game to teach business operations and a Team Lemonade Stand.
Utilizing Local Entrepreneurs to Teach Kids Entrepreneurship
How to utilize local entrepreneurs to teach kids entrepreneurship. Parts 1-4 of the series included: an overview of the 5 things to successfully teach kids entrepreneurship, how to choose a business idea, how to create a feasible business model and what business...
Teaching Business Basics to Kids – Part 4 to teach kids’ entrepreneurship
In parts 1-3 I discussed an overview of the 5 things to successfully teach kids’ entrepreneurship, how to choose a business and how to create a feasible business model; this post will focus on teaching business basics for starting and running a successful business. In...
Visiting a Lemonade Stand Encourages Young Entrepreneurs
Summer's are HOT which makes it a great opportunity for you to take advantage of the neighborhood lemonade stand. TIP: If the young entrepreneurs are smart, they will set it up in the shade or pop-up a shade tent to help you cool down even more. But Lemonade stands...
5 things to successfully teach kids entrepreneurship: How to Create a Feasible Business Model (Part 3)
5 Things to Teach Kids Entrepreneurship - How to Create a Feasible Business Model (Part 3 of 5) In part one of 5 things to successfully teach kids entrepreneurship, I outlined the five steps that we use with our More Than a Lemonade Stand™ Youth Entrepreneur...
Helping Kids Choose a Business Idea: 5 things to teach kids entrepreneurship (Part 2 of 6)
Helping Kids Choose a Business Idea they can Start (Part 2 of the 5 things to successfully teach kids entrepreneurship series) One thing that we discuss in the More Than a Lemonade Stand™ youth entrepreneur program, before having kids choose a business idea, is what...
5 things to start with when teaching kids entrepreneurship
I often get asked, what should I start with when teaching kids entrepreneurship? After teaching kids, ages 9-14, entrepreneurship over the past 10 years I’ve come up with five things that have proven to be successful. I use these 5 things in the More Than a Lemonade...
Lemonade Stands Really Do Make a Difference
Did you know that kids all over the world start and run lemonade stands to raise money for something they believe in? I’m sure you have read articles or have seen news stories of young entrepreneurs running lemonade stands for the recent hurricane and earthquake...
Youth Entrepreneur Camp – A Fun Way to Learn about Business
“Just because you’re a kid doesn’t mean you can’t start a business”. ~Sophia, youth entrepreneur camp attendee That was what Sophia said to me during our youth entrepreneur camp. And the best part is she was right! It is amazing the ideas that kids come up with during...
I have an Aspiring Entrepreneur – now what?
You have an aspiring entrepreneur in your house or classroom; the one setting up a lemonade stand and sitting out in the front yard until dark or the one that is making bracelets and selling them to their friends at school or the one that is always asking their...
Teaching Young Entrepreneurs can Help Communities Thrive
If we invest in teaching young entrepreneurs we can help our small towns survive and even thrive. If you look down the Main Street of any small town across the country, you will see that small local entrepreneurs make up the majority of businesses. They have passion...
7 Steps to Get Your Kids Started as a Young Entrepreneur
I have been working young entrepreneurs for the past decade and have found the 7 steps below to be successful in working with kids. 1. Choose a business idea. Kids can’t start learning about how to start a business if they don’t have an idea. Have your young...
Mini-Lessons for Entrepreneurs: The Goldfish way to Learn
Mini-Lessons for Entrepreneurs - Are they the wave of the future? You may have heard that the attention span of a human being has been compared to that of a goldfish. A recent article by a colleague of mine, Jenna Atkinson, in In Business Magazine (our local business...
It’s Time to Think about your Kid’s Summer Camp
Spring is only a month away (even though in Wisconsin it keeps snowing every other day) and summer will be here before we know it. So it is time to start thinking about your kid's summer camp. If you haven't taken advantage of providing a summer camp experience for...
5 Life Skills that Entrepreneurship and Theater Teach
Last week I finished directing a production of Fame Jr with my son Ryan at our local community theater group. As I reflect back on the experience, I realize that both entrepreneurship and theater have a lot in common when it comes to the life skills they teach. Here...
My Fave 5 Videos for teaching Young Entrepreneurs
Everyone loves a good video, especially kids! It’s always amazing to me that they can be somewhat loud and rambunctious and then a video comes on and voila; it’s like magic – they are mesmerized by the world of video, they pay attention and soak it in! That is why...
Teaching Business Operations with the Biz Ops Game
Teaching Business Operations with the Biz Ops Game is one of the kid's favorite (and my favorite) activities that is used in the More Than a Lemonade Stand Youth Entrepreneur Curriculum. It is a business simulation board game that focuses on teaching business...
7 Steps to Start a Kid Business
Choose a business idea. You can’t start learning about how to start a business if you don’t have an idea. Think about hobbies, interests, what you’ve learned, what you have experience in, what you’re good at what you like to do in your spare time. Test your idea with...
5 Everyday Opportunities to Teach Entrepreneurship to your Kids
I am an avid reader of ideas for teaching entrepreneurship not only for improving my own teaching of entrepreneurship but also so I can help parents and teachers implement entrepreneurship education in easy and effective ways. Sometimes we forget about the everyday...
What is an Entrepreneur?
My theory is that you can’t really teach kids how to be an entrepreneur if they don’t know what it is. The hard part is defining what an entrepreneur is! If you Google “What is an Entrepreneur”, you will get 149 million results in a matter of seconds. The first one...
There is more than one way to become a Billionaire Entrepreneur
In today’s blog post I wanted to share a couple of infographics. The first one features the”10 Youngest Billionaires of Our Time: How Did They Do it?” shared with me by one of my readers (thanks Madeline). These young billionaires have done some amazing things and...
Is Your Lemonade Stand Illegal?
This week it was Jerry Seinfeld’s kids lemonade stand getting closed down by police due to neighbors complaining about parking and not having a permit. I have been hearing about a stand getting closed down almost every week some place in the U.S. this summer – what do...
I have a business idea – 5 steps young entrepreneurs can start with!
In the last 2 blog posts I included ideas for how young entrepreneurs might come up with a business idea, an overview of the steps to get started and 10 ideas that work. Now that the business idea is starting to be developed, here is some more detail on what to do...
10 Awesome Business Ideas for Young Entrepreneurs
In my last blog post I talked about how kids can use their talents and passion to guide them into a business idea. But how do you know if that idea will work? Here are 9 business ideas that have a high chance of success for young entrepreneurs (and some helpful hints...
Avoid Summer Brain Drain – Help your kids start a business!
There is still a month left of summer vacation and the kids are getting bored! Why not have them start a business? Starting a small business is a good way to keep the brain drain away and keep the kids busy, learn responsibility, earn money and build their resume!...
5 things I learned from my Entrepreneurial Parents
I was very fortunate to have both of my parents as entrepreneurial role models as I was growing up. Both my mom and dad owned their own businesses at one time during my life and through growing up on a farm and raising steers for 4-H I learned that you can earn money...
Youth Entrepreneurs are Changing the World – get in on the change!
Youth Entrepreneurs are Changing the World! Every day I read about amazing young entrepreneurs who are making our world a better place. It is both encouraging and inspiring learning about what the next generation of entrepreneurs is accomplishing! But, if you think...
Are you ready for Lemonade Day? (How to build a Lemonade Stand out of PVC Pipe)
How to Build a Lemonade Stand out of PVC Pipe (in 6 easy steps) Since Lemonade day is coming up soon and summer is not far behind; I thought it would be helpful to share what I learned when I built my lemonade stand booth that I used a recent trade show. Many of the...
How are you entrepreneurial?
As I was reading The Element by Ken Robinson he brought up an interesting question about intelligence. He said we are asking the wrong question – instead of asking “How intelligent are you?” – He states we should be asking “How are you intelligent?” He claims that...
Are you Listening?
I love to learn, especially about entrepreneurship and small business! I read book after book on the subject; I don’t usually read fiction unless it’s something like “All in Startup” which is fiction inside non-fiction (more on that in a later post). I...
There is never a PERFECT Time to Start a Business
Starting a business is a lot like starting a family; if you wait for the time be perfect – it will never happen. They are both huge commitments in time, energy and emotion and that commitment will last for years. When I was 27, I started my first “real business” – an...
What’s Your Customer Mantra?
Every week should be customer service week In 1984 the International Customer Service Association (ICSA), which since merged with PACE, created and launched National Customer Service Week™. On October 8, 1992, President George H. W. Bush signed Presidential...
Games Make Learning Fun!
There were 2 things this past week that reminded me how much I love using games as a learning activity. The first one was a webinar that I participated in from Zingerman’s Zing Train program on using Mini-games to train employees. The second was as I was putting the...
Finding Your Passion to Make Meaning
When I start working with kids and adults on entrepreneurship one of the first things I work on is choosing a business idea that they will develop. They usually attend a class or a camp because they want to start a business and so it’s important to keep their...
Failure may be the Best Option
Having a son who is a junior in high school means that college visits are on the family schedule. A few weeks ago, we toured a college where the Dean of Students told us something that really stuck with me. Since they are a private college, they have a...
5 Myths of why teachers may not be teaching entrepreneurship
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to talk to local 8th graders at a career day event. They asked a lot of great questions and were very engaged – I was very impressed with the school as they have a special program that helps kids who want to go to college. Many of the...
Lemonade Stand a symbol of youth entrepreneurship!
I often get asked why you don’t use a more complicated business in your youth entrepreneur camps. My response is usually something like: who doesn’t love to visit a lemonade stand on a hot summer day. They usually shake their head in agreement and then go on with...
Compelling Reasons for Entrepreneurship at a Young Age
Disengagement and Drop outs I’m sure if you have a school-aged child, you have asked them “how was your day?” The reply is usually (if they are a boy anyway), “fine”. So of course you probe a bit more and you find out that in 3 of the 6 classes they watched movies. ...
It’s More Than a Lemonade Stand – My aha moment!
More Than a Lemonade Stand is what youth entrepreneur programs are all about. Have you ever been someplace and all of sudden that light bulb goes – you know it – that ‘aha’ moment. When I was at Brendon Burchard’s Experts Academy a few years ago – I was working in a...
Have you Organized your Conference Materials Yet?
Have you organized your conference materials yet? Whenever I get back from any conference, and Author 101 University is no exception, I have a pile of notes, handouts, marketing materials, business cards, and emails to deal with. I usually pull the stuff out of my bag...
Are you building your platform?
I've been back a week from Author 101 University and I finally sifted through all the materials and started getting to work on the 3 things I wrote down to focus on: 1) Build my platform (more on that in a moment), 2) Finish writing my book, 3) Follow up and write...
I Never Thought about Writing a Book
From what all the experts say, writing a book is the number #1 way to build your credibility. When I was thinking about starting a youth entrepreneur camp business, it never occurred to me that I would be writing a book. Then I went to Experts Academy with Brendon...
My entrepreneurial journey begins!
Since this e-seedling is a business about cultivating tomorrow's entrepreneurs. I think it is only fit to start with a post of documenting my entrepreneurial journey of getting this new business going. It's exciting to start a business in today's age but it is also...
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