How to spark your child’s interest in entrepreneurship

A core aspect of entrepreneurship is a willingness to engage with one’s community and spearhead innovative and creative projects. This mindset can also help your child build essential skills that will be useful to them throughout their school career. There are several ways to foster this attitude in your child:

• Develop their sense of observation
• Encourage collaboration and teamwork
• Encourage them to take initiative and challenge themself
• Spark their creativity
• Teach them to assess the risks and consequences of their actions (e.g., by making lists of pros and cons)
• Etc.

Another fundamental element of entrepreneurship is a taste for adventure. When the opportunity arises, help your child step out of their comfort zone and try new experiences. For example, you could ask for their input when coming up with new recipes or encourage them to sign up for an unusual extracurricular activity! It’s perfectly normal if your child feels reluctant at first. That’s the thing about developing a taste for adventure—it requires going out and having a few adventures!
 

It’s not always obvious, but entrepreneurs are all around us! They tend to be passionate people who love to talk about their experiences and career paths. Who better to answer the dozens of questions your child may have about entrepreneurship? Here are some examples of people you could speak with:

• A baker
• The owner of a local café
• An artist your child admires
• The florist at the market
• A grocer
• The manager of a green project (e.g., green alley, litter collection program)
• A farmer
• A sports coach
• Your child’s favourite author
• Etc.

Before talking to an entrepreneur, you may want to have your child prepare a few questions. This will boost their confidence and could help them feel less shy.

Entrepreneurs have to know how to get projects off the ground, but they also have to know how to finish them! Sometimes, when kids run into obstacles while completing school projects and other long tasks, they can be tempted to give up. To help your child put their ideas into action, have them follow these five simple steps:

1. Think about the community and choose a cause you care about
2. Set a goal
3. Establish a detailed, step-by-step action plan
4. Implement the action plan and adjust it when hiccups occur
5. At the end of the action plan, review the process by comparing the results obtained with the initial goal

Here are some tips on how to prevent your child from getting discouraged along the way:

• Foster their autonomy by encouraging them to find solutions to their problems. This way, your child will feel better equipped to handle any hurdles that arise.
• Give them age-appropriate responsibilities so they can work on taking initiative.
• Help them exercise resourcefulness and use their problem-solving skills, both of which are essential in many school subjects, such as mathematics. Entrepreneurship is often about finding solutions to real-life problems!

Your support as a parent is another essential element of any project. Taking an interest and believing in your child’s abilities can make a big difference!

Does your child want to get involved in their school’s green committee? That’s great! A good entrepreneurial project is often one that benefits the community. By participating in initiatives that are important to them, your child will get to have rewarding experiences and see the impact they can have on their environment and society. Here are some ways for your child to get involved:

• Create a school club (e.g., zero waste committee, chess club, student newspaper)
• Volunteer in their municipality or at a nearby business (e.g., community cleanup efforts, helping out at a pet store)
• Serve on student council
• Help out local seniors
• Participate in a neighbourhood food drive
• Organize a block party
• Etc.
   

Childhood and adolescence are crucial periods in the development of your child’s personality. It can sometimes be difficult for them to figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are, or even to know what they’re interested in! Having a better understanding of their abilities and interests will allow them to picture themselves in different situations to determine what activities are right for them. There are many benefits to self-awareness:

• It increases self-confidence
• It boosts perseverance and tenacity
• It allows for a better understanding of how to use one’s talents in everyday life
• It makes it easier to determine future plans
• It creates a heightened sense of responsibility and satisfaction from a job well done
• Etc.

What’s more, if your child is more aware of their talents and limitations, this can help reduce performance anxiety and mitigate their fear of making mistakes.