Comments on: Encouraging your Teen to Become an Entrepreneur

By: Prisqua

Prisqua — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 20:57:15 +0000

My daughter who is 18 got wants a fashion store, so told her to start one online and then she got really good ideas… She has been working for a shoe store as a casual and every day she complains about her job. so we started working on her website but it is a lot of work and she is not into lots of work…
She applied for another job because it is great money: base salary plus commissions but she has to work 40 hours to get good money. Keep trying she could be earning the same amount and more working from home… And trying to get her to give me to full days to finish the website is a hard one. Also just found out the father is not encouraging at all which I was a bit upset about because we are a family of self-employed people. But anyway I will prove him wrong and she will have a successful store.

By: Becca

Becca — Mon, 05 Aug 2013 01:48:41 +0000

My older son is really good on savings his extra money. But with my daughter, i’ve had hard time to help her understand the important of savings.

By: Mandy Allen

Mandy Allen — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 11:46:29 +0000

It’s so important to encourage our young people to do the best they can. In this world of technology it is great for them to have a purpose when online rather than just playing around. I work with young people and find their minds work in a really refreshing way, they have ideas I would never have thought of. Helping them to harness those ideas and run with them is a gift and we should all encourage their progress.

Enjoy the journey.

Mandy

By: Tracy Roberts

Tracy Roberts — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 19:33:50 +0000

Thanks for sharing your awesome ideas! My 2 youngest kids are very interested in what I’m doing, so much so that they want to start a vlog together (we’re currently going over appropriate video etiquette 😉 ) and my 16 yr old likes the idea of making money online but I’m not sure he’s ready to sit down and tackle it quite yet. However, he has talked about starting an offline business and has asked for input on creating a website so all is not lost.
Can’t wait to assign reading & coding homework!

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 18:17:53 +0000

This is a great post, and yes, please do write a Kindle book with even more ideas! My kids are just 6 and 2 but I love these ideas for instilling entrepreneurial focus and creativity at a young age (I think many of the ideas suggested can be adapted for my 6 year old now) and continuing to foster it as they grow older. We’re already teaching about spending, saving and tithing so I hope they’ll grasp financial concepts better than I did and not get into the same debt pitfalls I did in earlier years.

By: Kenmoab

Kenmoab — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 00:30:24 +0000

One of the best ways to encourage risk is to focus on reward. Setting goals, creating a plan and putting deadlines on a calendar for everyone to see have worked with school projects. I don’t know why they wouldn’t with encouraging entrepreneurship. Making money is a skill that most people struggle with well into adulthood. It is a confidence booster that will stay with them through all aspects of their lives.

By: Angie Marcum

Angie Marcum — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 01:57:02 +0000

I love this information! My kids are always stating they are just too young to earn some money. I try to teach them about money and saving money especially with groceries since it is a big expense now a days. My daughter watches as I am trying to grow my business and actually has a blog she writes on there from time to time. My son usually tries to do odd jobs for the neighbors like mowing.

By: Teresa Smolinski

Teresa Smolinski — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 17:32:00 +0000

I helped my daughters start their own business when they were 10 and 12. They are now in college and I run the business full-time. We’ve certainly learned a lot over the years. I must say, encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit is not unlike nurturing your child in other ways. How do you excite them to play an instrument or excel in a sport? You help find their talents, you provide positive reinforcement for the things that they do well, and you speak to their reward systems. What makes them tick? For some, the money is a thrill. For other kids, especially young ones that are happy with what they have, the money is not so much an incentive. If they have talents that you can pay them for, it’s a great way to start. Let them know that their skills have a value.

Make sure that your kids know that it’s okay to think outside the box and dare them to be different. My youngest hated being the center of attention and the publicity the business attracted was quite uncomfortable for her. Now in college (and a business/marketing major!) she appreciates the things that she’s learned along the way, and approaches her classes quite differently than many her own age. My oldest is a college senior planning on getting her doctorate and working in healthcare, but knows that the business lessons she’s learned along the way are invaluable. She has no interest in being an entrepreneur but realizes that running a practice will take business skills.

I can obviously talk for hours on this topic.

By: Samantha Angel

Samantha Angel — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 04:47:28 +0000

On financial IQ, since we have 6 people living in the house our food bill is one of the biggest bills we have, so I regularly show them how to save money by having them help make a menu for the week, seeing what we have and what we need, then checking ads before grocery shopping.

My oldest son, 19, has a job and I encourage him to put half of his paycheck in savings. Most of the time he does pretty good with that. My daughter, 15, occasionally babysits and umpires softball. She’s pretty good about saving her money for the things she really wants.

As for encouraging their entrepreneurial spirit, we’ve talked about lots of things and I’ve thrown out ideas but right now their interests are elsewhere. My son loves video games too and I had encouraged him to pursue something in that direction but he’s not ready for that. I like the html training you mentioned and I will pass that along. My daughter is dead set on getting an athletic scholarship for softball and going to a big university.

And for our little guy, I have a lot of food for thought. Thanks for sharing great ideas!

By: Hemang Shah

Hemang Shah — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 02:34:54 +0000

Don’t have an older kid, yet. My son is 16 months now. I did sort of “bring up” my cousin who’s now 18 or so. We come from a family of businessmen so entrepreneurship and financial IQ are discussed in the family. I’ve gently probed him to pick up app programming for Android or iOS. He saw me develop my app on movie names (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/duffer-hollywood-premium/id424384470?mt=8) and was pretty impressed with it. He’s seen how it can generate passive income as well give you an opportunity to do the work you love.

He’s studying to be an engineer and can accomplish anything if he sets his mind to it. I am happy that he realizes that there’s no such thing as “Easy Money” and you have to put in the efforts to get results.