youth entrepreneurs are changing the world
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 kids can go out on the street corner start a lemonade stand and then tomorrow run a successful business, then you need to think again. The seed may be planted but the young entrepreneurs need to be cultivated so that they can realize their strengths & talents, leading to increased self-confidence and allowing them to thrive and grow. The Small Business Administration states that only 50% of businesses survive 5 years and that only 33% survive 10.
Here are 6 things you can do to help kids succeed as entrepreneurs.
1. Help kids realize they have unique talents and skills.
Everyone has the potential to do something great. Finding the things we are great at sometimes takes a lifetime. Exploring with the kids what their talents are, what they are good at and helping them realize that they can use these talents and skills to make a difference will build their self-confidence and is one of the keys to creating an entrepreneurial mindset.
2. Look for problems that need to be solved and work on solving them.
Turning problems into opportunities is what entrepreneurs do. The more you have the kids come up with problems that they can turn into an opportunity, the more they will think about this when they look at the world on a daily basis. If they learn this early, who knows what problems they will solve?
3. Bring in entrepreneurs to share their stories and experiences.
Everyone has a story; including entrepreneurs and they love to share them and help others. Ask some local entrepreneurs if they would like to speak to the kids on how they got started (many had businesses when they were kids) and what they have learned as an entrepreneur. Or better yet, visit your local entrepreneur (try to visit at a non-busy time) and ask them about their business and how they got started.
4. Have kids present an idea they are passionate about.
Communication and presentation skills are vital to the success of an entrepreneur. Without good communication and presentation skills entrepreneurs wouldn’t be able to sell to their customers, communicate with their employees and vendors or effectively present to get funding for their business. Have kids start presenting about something they are passionate about – it will make it easier for them and break the ice.
5. Show them that failure is a tool for learning.
Kids today get an award or trophy for almost everything they participate in. This has set today’s kids up for a hard fall. In real life – we don’t always win – it is important to teach kids that failure is okay and that we should learn from our failures. Games are one way that is a safe way to teach that they can learn from failure. Find a game that teaches business concepts and use it as a learning experience.
6. Teach business basics.
Entrepreneurs start a business because they have a passion, skill or talent but they may have no clue of how to run a business. It is important that the passionate entrepreneur knows business basics and/or have a partner who can run the operations of the business. If they don’t have business sense, the business is likely to fail.
To find out more about tools and books to help you get in on the change visit: www.eseedling.com
