Teaching The Entreprenuerial Mindset to Your Kids
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How are great entrepreneurs made? The answer is a classic nature versus nurture debate! Sure we have heard of successful, famous entrepreneurs and leaders, as well as well-known creative artists with the “CEO Disease”. People like Ted Turner, Pierre Peladeau, Abraham Lincoln, Vincent Van Gogh; even Steve Jobs was said to be diagnosed with this type of mental illness medically known as manic depression or bipolar disorder.
Scientific evidence points to protein abnormalities in the brain linked to genetic origins as the cause of this disease that gives these successful people the kind of mindset to relentlessly pursue ideas and turn them into successful money-making ventures. A lot of entrepreneurs and people studying them argue that environmental exposure plays a bigger role in developing the entrepreneurial mindset; that the nurture part is even more significant than any natural predispositions.
Being a mother of two young boys, aged 9 and 5 years old, I tend to agree on the nurture part of raising kids to become successful entrepreneurs. Here’s what me and my husband have been doing with our kids.
Teach your kids to love money early on. “Money is the root of all evils”. Enough of this crap! We tell our kids that not knowing how to make money is the root of all evils. That not knowing how to manage your money is even more evil. You often hear my 9 year old discussing with his brother how to raise money to buy toys they want.
Teach them financial concepts at every opportunity. Then 4 years old, you would hear my oldest son talking inside the toy store: “Mom, I found this toy, the number at the back (he means price by the way) starts with 1 followed by two zeroes, that’s expensive right? Oh wait, here’s another one that starts with 1 followed by one zero then a period, I know this one we can buy!” Now 9 years old, before going to the toy store he asks: “What’s our budget this time Mom?” What’s more delightful is when he tells his younger brother that a certain toy is too expensive to buy!
Turn their passions into entrepreneurial opportunities. My oldest loves computer games so much. He does not only play them during his spare time but also create them on paper every chance he gets. He’d get so enthusiastic about creating games he ends-up asking me to hold a flashlight while drawing his games before bedtime so as not to disturb his already sleeping brother. We finally decided to buy him a game creator program (it pays to have a programmer for a husband) and told him he can create games in his spare time. We will create a website where he can post his games, told him that maybe he can generate income through advertisements first then from sales later. We got a big, approving grin from him!
Teach them to save early. They both have savings account from cash gifts, piggy bank savings but we have decided to follow Cameron Herold’s advice in his TED Talk on raising kids to be entrepreneurs and give them two piggy banks. All the money they earn or receive split into two, one for their savings, and the other for buying toys they want. Of course with a reminder on buying only toys appropriate for their age.
Encourage their obsessive tendencies as long as it is not alarming that will require medical attention. My 5 year old builds Lego creator toys very fast without looking at the manual. He relentlessly builds them until they perfectly fit together and looks like the pictures in the toy box. The same goes for cities he builds using wooden and magnetic blocks. We encourage him to speak what he think is wrong and why he is not yet satisfied with his creations. We offer suggestions and help him build them until he gives his nod of approval. I tell you, when we think everything is perfect, he proves us wrong every time by coming-up with a better design or lay-out. It sure tests our patience but he just won’t give-up until he is satisfied!
We know have a long way to go. Although our parents did not teach us financial education or entrepreneurship and we sure did not learn them from school; we’re glad we are teaching them to our kids.
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That’s great you’re teaching your kids how to catch fish and fend for themselves in future. I hope to teach my son the same lessons.
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Hey Brent,
Just saw this one. Yeah, the earlier you start teaching them financial literacy, the earlier they catch on and apply it early in life. Every parent’s hope is for their children to live a better life than them, an improvement so to speak. So, good luck to both of us!
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