Encourage Your Kids Inner Entrepreneur
Every parent wishes for more for their children than they have. So what does it take to promote entrepreneurship in your children. Here are 10 easy steps to implement to help develop leadership in your kids.
1) START EARLY. Have conversations with your children about what is exciting to them. What sort of things are they interested in? Develop their genius at an early age by finding out what they are passionate about.
2) TALK ABOUT VALUES. Discuss with your kids what\'s important in life. You\'ll be encouraged by what values they already know: share with others, give somebody else a turn, play fair with one another, listen intently to directions. When you know all of your children\'s values, write them on a board and place them in a place of prominence. Your kids have just described their corporate values.
3) WHAT LEADERSHIP STYLE DOES YOUR CHILD HAVE. Whether you think so or not, every child is a leader. Some are more natural and others are developed. Use your individual child\'s assets to build their leadership platform.
4) TRY SOME THINGS OUT. Encourage your children to try different things out. It will take some trial and error to find a plan or product that throws them into entrepreneurship.
5) ASK SOME BUSINESS QUESTIONS. Once you\'ve decided on a product, where do you go from there? Ask your kids to think through the next steps. What materials are needed? What about inventory? Where will your products come from (suppliers and vendors)? How will you pay for these products (raising capital and managing budgets)?
6) DEVISE A BUSINESS PLAN. Have your kids write a one to two page plan that answers some vital questions: What business are they in? Who will their customers be? How will consumers discover their business? How am I different? By defining specifics about their product, customers, and competition, your kids will learn more about their strengths.
7) SOUND THE ALARMS. Develop a marketing plan with your kids. Get them involved in the sales. Let them feel as if there are no limits.
8) MAKE A COMMERCIAL. Your kids watch TV and they are fully aware what commercials are. They know how to sell. So get the camcorder rolling and film a video commercial. Whether or not you use it is of little importance. It\'s a fun way to explain marketing techniques to your kids and it also helps to boost their confidence.
9) UTILIZE THE INTERNET. Kids are very internet savvy these days. They learn how to be online at a young age. Help them build a website, send out press releases announcing their new company, and teach them internet marketing strategies.
10) GIVE BACK. Teach you kids about social responsibility and how they envision themselves giving back. Have a conversation about whether they volunteer in their spare time or set aside a portion of proceeds from their company to give to charity. This is ultimately what is the most important thing: Developing a good human being.