People think that entrepreneurship is innate and can’t be taught. To an extent this is true, not everyone wants to go into business, but many young Children have entrepreneurial skills that aren’t developed further, leading to missed opportunities. No-one’s suggesting that your son has to become Manchester’s next Mr Reuben Singh, but an entrepreneur’s mindset is invaluable, so here’s how you create one.

Eyes on the prize

Writing down a goal or an ambition makes it much more likely to be achieved, so sit your children down and ask them what their five biggest wishes or dreams are. Then choose the biggest one and ask your child to write down what’s needed to get there. Tell them that that first step starts NOW!

See opportunities, not problems

Sometimes people only see problems, rather than the solution, and this leads to a cycle of complaining but doing nothing. Help your child to avoid this trap by encouraging him to look beyond the problem. When he or she complains about a baking disaster, ask what can be done to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Encourage experimentation to make the cakes even better. This thought process teaches the habit of looking for solutions rather than poking a soggy cake and crying.

Pounds, shillings and pence

Schools often fail to teach children basic financial literacy, so make this an important lesson that you deliver. So your daughter wants that toy? It costs £10.00 and the local going rate for a car wash is £2.00; so that’s five washes, then. Additionally, opening a basic bank account as soon as possible helps, as they can see how much they have and how much they can spend.

It’s not a failure, it’s a lesson

Another way schools can let kids down is by teaching them that failure is bad. OK, it stings, but it’s also an important lesson.

Let your children fail once in a while and don’t tell them off, or even commiserate with them – talk to them about how they could have done things better, so that they succeed next time. Also, make sure there is a next time!

Independence Day

A bit of independence goes a long way. Children can’t develop a sense of confidence unless they’re allowed to do things by themselves.  Independence is one of the key features of an entrepreneur – the sense of get-up-and-go, with no waiting for someone else’s say-so. Your kids want spending money for your next holiday? Ask them to brainstorm ideas for raising some of it themselves and promise to match-fund whatever they earn.

Sell, sell, sell!

Life is all about selling and if a child learns how to sell early on, no matter what career they end up in, that ability will never leave them. It’s needed to sell themselves at university and job interviews, or to raise investment capital, or even to propose marriage!   Suggest a good old lemonade stall, or whatever would work in your local area,  and let them set their own rates and handle the customers and cash themselves.

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