Is Entrepreneurship the Career Path for my child?
Planning your child’s career is a pressing challenge for all parents.
Given the present situation, opting for any career will not be devoid of competition. So, it would be best if you prepare your child from a young age.
So, have you thought about it already?
Does the life of entrepreneurs make you wish for the same for your kids?
It’s not wrong – The success story of Hilary Yip, the youngest CEO in the world, might have inspired you to go in the same direction. Who doesn’t wish to be their boss?
Of course, we did not refer to the well-suited animated character, the Boss Baby!
But, do you want your child to stick to his chair and laptop from a young age?
We don’t have any intention to snatch away their innocence by overburdening them with the task of running their own business. We don’t want to create child entrepreneurs here.
Instead, your focus should be to raise entrepreneurial kids. The same career path will indeed give them an ultimate sense of freedom of ruling their fate. We all want our kids to grow up and make a mark for themselves, and entrepreneurship is probably one such path.
Only, if they want to, i.e.
But, developing the much-needed entrepreneurial skills from a young age can help them stay ahead of the competitive curve no matter what career they choose. Even if they choose not to run their own business, the skill-sets will lead them to success.
Let’s understand what makes a person a successful entrepreneur. That will give you clarity on whether or not your ward has what it takes to become a successful ‘Boss Baby!’
Skill #1: Ability to Think Out-of-the-Box
Yes! Entrepreneurs are blessed with extra grey cells that make them think what others might not.
Does your child possess the same skill set? How can you find out?
The best way to find out what they do with their allowances, right? Some kids enjoy gorging on unhealthy junk, splurging chocolate milk, buying accessories to flaunt, spending on parties, and so on.
Worst case scenario – probably getting high on drugs.
But, if your child already possesses an entrepreneurial mindset, he or she will figure out a path to make more money or follow the ‘circular economy’ pattern. In short, they will not waste money on frivolous things. Instead, they will intend to invest or spend in places to get a profitable return.
Such behavior should be encouraged. You have to make sure your child didn’t choose the wrong path to make money.
Skill #2: Leading from the Front
An entrepreneur should be a competent leader. He should lead the team from front to back.
Some kids tend to show great leadership qualities from a young age. They like to take the initiative and bring ideas to the table. That’s why they are selected as Monitors, Games’ Captains, or Head Cheerleaders.
But, very few retain such qualities later in their careers.
If your child possesses leadership qualities, nurture them and direct them to the right path. For example, if they can lead a team through collaboration and participation, they can succeed as entrepreneurs later.
If they ensure that his/her entire team wins together, your child can grow into a great leader. That’s a strong skill-set to have!
Skill #3: Questions the Status Quo
That’s what all entrepreneurs do. They question a lot. They don’t accept things readily as they are. Because if they didn’t question, they would have never found an alternative solution.
The story of Steve Jobs and Mark Zukerberg might guide you here. They didn’t accept what was already there. Instead, they questioned and tried finding an easy way out.
If your child does that all the time, he can bring greater changes in the future.
Skill #4: Ability to Rise after Every Fall
If entrepreneurs gave up easily after multiple failures, they would have never succeeded.
We often advise our kids – Failures are the Pillars of Success!
But, when they fail – do we encourage them to rise on their feet again? Or, we blame their failures for their mistakes?
It’s time to end the ‘blame game.’ Because the more you blame them, the more you are breaking their self-confidence.
Just imagine – Both Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg were college dropouts. Do we even remember why they dropped out of college?
No, we remember that they could change their fate after facing multiple failures. And, since Rome was not built in a day, obviously, they can’t become the boss of their business overnight.
Miracles happen…at times after a series of failures. So, if your child possesses the quality to rise back and fight after each failure, even if they do not score high GPAs, they will definitely make something out of their failures.
Skill #5: Extremely Money-Minded
This is not necessarily a bad trait – of course, we are not talking about bullies who make fun of kids coming from less privileged families.
No, we are talking about how your child finds out ways to make or earn more money from a young age.
This point is related to the first skill we discussed here – observe how your kid tries to earn money all the time, or does he rely only on the monthly allowance?
Does he find a temporary job to pay for his expenses?
Or, does he enter into small businesses like selling stuff and make a profit out of that?
If he shows an affinity towards any one of the above points, he has the qualification to join the entrepreneurs’ ranks someday. Why?
Why do you think entrepreneurs do what they do?
Why do you think entrepreneurs start their businesses?
Simple – they want to mint money in nine figures or more! They are not like us. They value an idea about how much returns they can have and how much profit they can make. They see ‘money’ everywhere; they envision ‘opportunities’ everywhere.
If your child displays such traits, then he will find a way to make money for himself.
Again, it should not be an illegal trade.
Skill #6: Good at Achieving Small Goals
Now, this skill is of utmost importance, not only for entrepreneurs but for others as well. Entrepreneurs never see the ‘Light of the Day’ instantly. They work hard, they set small short-term goals and achieve them gradually.
Their perseverance and determination eventually lead them to that ‘eureka’ moment.
Does your child possess the same skill?
Is your child obsessed with scoring a ‘Big A’ in everything?
Does your child practice hard to get selected for the school soccer team?
Is your child focused hard on becoming the ‘Captain’ of his squad?
Does he show persistence until he achieves those small goals?
If your answers are all ‘Yes,’ then you should be feeling proud of your child. So don’t bother them for becoming too obsessed with those little successes. Instead, encourage them to keep working hard and continue working even if they fail multiple times.
That’s how you will build the competitive spirit inside of them. That’s how they can grow up to become confident owners of their businesses.
Skill #7: More Purpose-Driven
It’s true entrepreneurs run businesses to make money. But that’s just the ‘preview’ of their story.
An entrepreneur is someone who knows how to make a difference first.
An entrepreneur is someone who knows how to serve their customers better. That’s second.
So, focusing on making a profit is an outcome of finding solutions to make a difference in the lives of others.
This is something that you should encourage in your kids from a young age. If they are already purpose-driven, your job as a parent is nearly half-done!
And, that purpose should not be only profiteering. Otherwise, your kid may never grow up into a responsible entrepreneur.
Instead, please give them the purpose to bring a difference in someone else’s life first. Then, make them see the problem at hand and encourage them to trigger their brain cells for a solution. The profit-part should come at last.
For example, if an older man in the neighborhood cannot take care of the backyard or fix his gadget, make your kid volunteer for the task. Encourage him to find a solution that can help the older man. If he succeeds in the said task, reward him well.
So, he gets the idea that profit comes after you have successfully solved a problem for someone.
Always remember that money is important, but the sole purpose of a startup can never be to make a profit only. Instilling that belief in your kid can be too damaging!
If your child already displays such a trait like extending his helping hand to someone in need or always has a solution to any problem whatsoever, that trait should be strongly encouraged.
The bottomline is…
The career of an entrepreneur can paint many rosy pictures in your mind. But, their lives are not exactly a bed of roses. And, not necessarily a person with three or more characteristics, as mentioned earlier, can grow up to become an entrepreneur.
As parents, your responsibility is to guide them to the right path, not force that career choice on them. Children are like small buds – allow them to bloom and unfurl into a beautiful flower on their own.
Lastly, it would be best if you remembered – “not everyone can become a great artist; but a great artist can come from anywhere,” (quote from the film Ratatouille).
So, wait and see…
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