How to parent entrepreneurial kids
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Hi Reader, My first entrepreneurial pursuit was pet sitting. I thought getting paid $10/day to feed someone’s cat was fantastic. I couldn’t believe someone would go away for a week and I could bike to their house and make $70. It felt like magic. Not all of your kids will be entrepreneurial, and that’s okay. If they are, expect each of them to express their interests differently. Go with their energyPay attention to the times your kid says they want to do something and you start to say, “Oh, not now…” If you want to foster an entrepreneurial spirit, the most important thing is early momentum. If you see them enjoying something, or you hear them express an interest, go with their energy. Many kids have entrepreneurial tendencies but aren’t encouraged or given the opportunity to explore them. Or they have parents who are always busy when they’re excited. It’s easy to miss if you’re not actively looking for ways to support them. Keep in mind that it takes time. My son, August, expressed an interest in woodworking, and it took a year of talking with him and working on things before he had enough to sell. He also found he didn’t like sitting out by himself on the street at his table waiting for people to stop. This is where friends come in. If you can find a way to involve their friends, do it. He enjoyed sitting at his table a lot more when his friend was there. Make it bite-sizedIn some cases, kids will have really big ideas that seem impossible or impractical at first. Rather than dismiss it, try to find a way to make a bite-sized version of their idea a reality. If they say they want to have a coffee shop, don’t say, “That’s ridiculous,” find a way. Consider getting an espresso machine or teaching them how to make coffee. Include some friends and let them run a shop in the living room and set up a way for them to take payments. Another way you can encourage entrepreneurialism is to model behavior you want to see. I was working on an AirBnb spreadsheet, and my son asked, “What’s this?” I explained in a simple way. “I want to make a spreadsheet,” he said. Using a coffee shop as an example, I plugged in some revenue and inventory and showed him how to do some basic formulas. It was that interaction that inspired him to say he wanted to have a coffee shop. Make it relevantWhenever possible, find ways to make business concepts relevant to your kids. I can’t explain SaaS to my son at his age, but I can explain Airbnb. I show the house, the photos, and the listing. From there, I’m able to explain the concept of leverage by talking about how we clean the house once between guests, and it’s the same amount of effort whether they stay one day or 10 days. I’m also able to talk about some form of passive income that he’ll understand. We’ve spent many Saturdays at our Airbnbs assembling stuff with friends, ordering pizza, and doing various activities. This makes things tangible. Don’t give allowancesRather than give an allowance, we give opportunities for our kids to do various things around the house and pay them generously when they do. This puts the control in their hands. “Dad, will you get me a GoPro?” “No, but you can,” I say and then give advice and help him strategize. Talk to them about their goals and interests. Be curious. Tie their birthday presents around their interests. When I turned 15, my parents got me Photoshop Elements. That kicked off my next business of logos and web design. Something I talk about in my article on Ladders of Wealth Creation is that every job, even at the most entry level, is going to require three things:
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