How to Raise an Entrepreneur

If someone were to ask you what you’d like your child to be, words such as kind, honest, and happy might come to mind. 

Most of us would be uncomfortable pegging a career for our kids, we want them to be what they want to be (with a few restrictions of course!)

And what’s the use really, chances are if we tried to dictate our child’s career path she’d likely purposefully go in the opposite direction, anyway.

So before we talk about how to raise an entrepreneur, perhaps the better question is why would I want to raise my child to be an entrepreneur?

After all, it doesn’t take much experience as an entrepreneur to know that it can be a difficult and uncertain career path, and is sometimes simply a code word for “I’m unemployed.”

Even if you have no desire to try to put your child on a certain career path, there are at least two reasons you should raise her to be an entrepreneur.

First, we live in uncertain and changing economic times. 

It used to be common for people to get a job straight out of college and retire from that same company.

Such stability among jobs and companies themselves is rare anymore.

Equipping your child to be an entrepreneur is a good plan even though she may end up there someday out of necessity rather than choice. 

Second, if you raise your child to look at the world through the eyes of an entrepreneur, you’re empowering her to know she doesn’t have to settle for a life that’s lived around a job she hates going to every day, or a boss or co-worker she can’t stand.

You’re breaking open the traditional model of get the best job you can and stay there for the money whether you like it or not because that’s life, and giving your child brighter paths to consider.

So without having any expectation that your child should actually become an entrepreneur,  let’s look at four areas in which you can instill the entrepreneurial spirit in her that will benefit her no matter what profession or job she ultimately chooses.

Discipline

How we discipline our children has a big influence over their self-image and self-esteem. 

If we want to raise strong, self-assured, independent children, then we have to focus on problem solving rather than punishment as a method of discipline.

Ruling with an iron hand that metes out punishments in exchange for wrong doing sends your child the message that something’s wrong with him. 

It also sets the tone for a future boss/employee relationship where your child as the employee simply takes what the boss doles out and lives for Friday night where he can sit at the bar with his co-workers and bad mouth the offending boss.

If your child’s wrong doings are met with the attitude of “you have a problem, how can I help you solve it and get your behavior on track?” it helps to build your child up rather than tear him down.

Positive discipline instills ever-important problem-solving skills in your child and empowers him to grow, rather than just leaving him angry with you and questioning his own worth.

One of your biggest roles as a parent is arming your child  with a positive self-image because self-image is one of the best determiners for whether he will go on to live a happy and successful life. 

Keep this fact in mind when making choices on how to discipline your child.

Money Management

As soon as you feel your child is ready, start teaching her money management skills with small amounts of her own money.

In these early stages, you’ll have some say over what she does with her own money so that she grows up with good money habits.

This is a big issue for entrepreneurs because there is no “steady paycheck,” especially in the beginning.

As an entrepreneur you have to know how to save for the lean times, the value of reinvesting in your business, and the reality of having to set some of your earnings aside for taxes.

You can teach your child this by at first mandating that she can only spend a certain portion of the money she receives. 

Then help her decide what the rest needs to be set aside for.

There may be a portion for saving up for big items she wants, or for extra spending money during a planned vacation, a portion for unexpected things that come up that she may want to participate in or buy, and a portion for the favorite charity of her choosing.

If you’ll force this early attitude of not spending everything she gets, it will become a habit that follows her for life and allows her to make wise financial decisions, even if she does wind up with a steady paycheck.

Goal Setting

One of the cornerstones of entrepreneurial success is goal setting.

If you don’t define clearly what you want, your chances of getting it plummet dramatically.

All of the research surrounding goal setting shows that people who clearly define their goals, write them down, and share them with someone have a dramatically increased chance of actually meeting their goals.

So why not start early teaching your kids the best and easiest way to get what they want?

Again, it’s about instilling good habits that will serve your child for life.

Let your child choose his goals, although you can help by suggesting things that are important but might not be at the top of his list.

The goals could have to do with saving for a big purchase, getting a certain grade, improving a sports performance, making up with a friend . . . what they are isn’t nearly as important as writing them down and developing a plan to reach them is.

Growth Mindset

If you haven’t read Carol Dweck’s book Mindset, it’s a must-read for entrepreneurs and parents.

Dr. Dweck’s framework states that people either have a growth or fixed mindset.

Those with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities, talents, and intelligence are fixed or determined traits.

Those with a growth mindset know that they can get smarter, develop more abilities, and grow their talents through putting in time and effort, basically doing the work.

For entrepreneurs, growth mindset is an essential trait, one you can’t live without.

How do we encourage a growth mindset in our children?

First of course, by modeling it in ourselves and showing our children how our abilities and talents are continuously growing.

As for your child, you’ll have to instill in him through your words and actions that there’s enough in life for everyone, that the world is an abundant place.

Encourage him to explore different things to discover what his passions are, and allow him to change directions, in fact encourage it.

As a society, we ask kids what they want to be from the time they’re preschoolers, and then force them to choose a path when they begin college at 18 or 19 years old ~ a crucial time when they haven’t even figured out who they are yet.

Letting your child know that there is no end to the journey, and that changing paths is always okay, sets him up for a lifetime of happiness being who he wants to be and embracing the fact that it may change over the years.

Feed Your Entrepreneurial Spirit at Kids Party Characters

At Kids Party Characters, we’ve got both you and your child covered.

Help feed your child’s imagination and love for life by booking her next party though KidsPartyCharacters.com.

We have over 200 characters to choose from, each of whom is portrayed by trained actors who put on a show for your child and her guests that is guaranteed to create lasting memories. 

We also have available all your child’s favorite party activities such as face painting, balloon twisting, and cotton candy.

For mom, we have a unique opportunity to have your very own Kids Party Characters business.

With a license to KidsPartyCharacters.com you’ll have an exclusive territory in which to book parties, the right to use all of our 200+ costumes, access to our casting director and acting coach, and business training and support from Kids Party Characters founder Cheryl Jacobs.

If you’re a stay at home mom looking for an opportunity to work from home, or an entrepreneur looking to add another income stream, book a call with Cheryl right here and she’ll answer all your questions and determine whether this is the right opportunity for you.

And don’t forget to connect with Kids Party Characters on Facebook, where you’ll find daily updates on all the fun we create at children’s parties, as well as strategies for growing a business while raising happy and healthy kids.