Why Business For Kids?
Written by Jenny on July 23, 2008
Every now and again, I meet someone who is new to the area of financial education, and when that happens I find that I need to go back to basics and explain why it is that we believe business experience is a vital part of a well-rounded financial education.
I find that many people get focused on the earning of money when they think about business for kids. Many people see business as difficult, and stressful, and as a complicated way to make money. It seems to them that understanding business is optional, as most kids will never need that understanding.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Kids gain so many benefits from running a business, above and beyond the money they may earn.
Business Understanding Benefits Consumers and Employees, As Well As Entrepreneurs
Even as a consumer, if you understand how business works, you are much less likely to be conned, overcharged, or exploited. As an employee, your understanding of the business model your employer uses will make you more valuable, help you to make the right choices when using your discretion, and enable you to choose the right time and the right supporting arguments to ask for that raise.
Business Experience Develops Character
Quite apart from any financial benefit, running a business develops your child across a range of personal qualities. A business has been described as “one of the best personal development programs available”.
Whether it is dealing with unhappy customers, trying to make sales, managing contractors, or managing their own emotions of excitement, apprehension or disappointment, doing business will put your child in learning situations which develop his or her character and attitude. Business provides the best possible feedback – immediate and accurate. If you get your marketing message right, customers show up. If you treat your customers badly, they go elsewhere.
We have devoted ourselves to shielding kids from the “harsh realities” of the world, but a little controlled exposure to reality is very important preparation for real life!
Business Experience Builds Confidence
Doing business enables a child to negotiate with adults on an equal footing, as a professional supplier of good or services. The experience of being taken seriously is incredibly important, particularly in the tween and early teen years, when our culture really doesn’t offer kids much opportunity to interact with adults as peers.
I cannot stress enough how important it is for kids to have the sense that they can provide something of value, which adults will take seriously. Kids are not stupid – they know when adults are cooing “oh, that’s lovely” about a painting or poem, but don’t really mean it. They won’t treject condescending praise – any praise is better than no praise – but they hunger for real, valid affirmation. They yearn to be able to do something worthwhile, and be appreciated for their contribution with no allowances required for their age or cuteness.
Once a child knows their accomplishments are genuinely impressive at an adult level, it relieves a primal anxiety about how they will make their own way in the world as adults.
Too many of our kids never get this sense of their own capability, and become children in adult bodies, still uncertain and anxious about their ability to function in the adult world. Early business experience can provide that vital sense of competence and self-sufficiency, even when the actual business earnings are no more than a few dollars.
Business Experience Teaches The Real Value Of Money
When a child is too young to have a regular job, the only way they will learn the connection between providing something of value and receiving money in return is to have a business.
As we all know, the “something for nothing” mentality is at plague proportions in our culture, and it causes a lot of misery. Early business experience, coupled with parents who are responsible about allowances, will give kids a good, solid foundation of visceral knowledge that money comes as a result of providing value – and that they have something of value to offer.
What better attitude to instil in your kids?
Of course, it is also important to teach them how to manage their money responsibly – to save, invest, give, and to make wise spending decisions. Business experience is not the be-all and end-all of financial education.
Business education, however, makes an important contribution to financial understanding, which cannot be replicated using allowances alone.
This is why we created the Cash-Smart Kids program, to provide an integrated approach to financial education – one that covers all the bases.
Jenny Ford is a financial educator, holder of a B.A.(Hons) in Psychology, a Diploma in Training And Assessment Systems, and an Advanced Diploma in Business Management, and mother of three girls, all of whom started businesses aged between nine and twelve. Jenny’s blog can be seen at Raising Entrepreneurs.
Enter the Cash-Smart Kids YouTube Video Competition – do you know a child with a business? Make a video and they could be featured in a new book to be published in 2009.
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Cash-Smart Kids YouTube Competition Update – July 21st
Written by Jenny on July 21, 2008It’s a rushed week this week, as I am preparing to go overseas this weekend. I’ll be flying to Stockholm to speak at a conference, and then on to Washington to attend another conference.
In Washington, I’ll be catching up with Shonika Proctor, who is coaching those remarkable business kids from very underprivileged backgrounds. I am looking forward to hearing more of their stories, and I’ll share them with you soon.
I have had a press enquiry – if you are in the north-eastern part of Sydney, Australia, and you put an entry into the competition, your regional newspaper, The Manly Daily, will do a story on you and your business. Now, we don’t have an entry from that part of the world yet, so the field is wide open!
I don’t need to tell you what it can mean for your business to have a story in a paper with a readership of over a million people.
So, any Aussies ready to grab this opportunity?
Young Entrepreneur Program Starting At Santa Clarita
Written by Jenny on July 18, 2008
Young people who aspire to one day start their own business, or see an existing enterprise grow, are being encouraged to take part in the Young Entrepreneurs Program being offered this summer at the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) hosted by College of the Canyons.
The Young Entrepreneur Program (YEP) is a free, four-week-long course designed for young people from age 14 to 27.
“There are many young people in our community with dreams of pursuing their passions through business endeavors,” said Paul De La Cerda, Director of the COC Small Business Development Center. “But all too often these budding entrepreneurs have no guidance or knowledge about how to get started. So we launched a special program specifically for them.”
Through a variety of creative partnerships with local business owners the YEP will offer students free business counseling, while implementing business training programs in the areas of management, finance, marketing, sales and eCommerce by using a variety of outreach and delivery methods — including websites, blogs, social networking sites, virtual reality games, youth-oriented trainers and business simulation products.
In addition YEP participants will be partnered with a local business to brainstorm and create a new commercial product and accompanying business model — which will then be entered into a region wide business plan competition.
“This new program will aid participants in the development and operation of part time businesses – which could eventually lead to full time operational status – all while they complete their junior high, high school or college education,” said Bruce Getzan, COC Dean of Economic Development.
Source: KHTS Radio News
Why Should We Teach Our Kids About Money?
Written by Jenny on July 16, 2008I read a great blog post yesterday from Dave Ramsay, which started:
Some people say, “Timmy’s so young. I want him to enjoy being happy and innocent. Money is a worry for grown-ups, not kids.”
I say, “We’re raising a whole generation with ’sucker’ stamped on their foreheads because we’re not teaching them.”
Your job as a parent is not just to keep your child happy. You’re raising a future grown-up who needs to be able to deal with grown-up matters. If you teach little Timmy how to handle money responsibly, then grown-up Timmy will be better equipped for a richer life.
I think Dave makes a very good point here – we are all questing for happiness, and we all operate on the assumption that is life is easy, we will be happy. Therefore, we try to make life easier for our kids, in the expectation that they will then be happier.
The truth about happiness, however, is that the ease or difficulty of life is not the issue. The issue is how we deal with life. Competence breeds happiness. The ability to handle one’s responsibilities breeds happiness. A sense of self-reliance and self-direction breeds happiness.
“Cotton wool kids”, who are sheltered from “harsh reality”, never have the opportunity to learn how to deal with life and manage responsibilities in a gradual manner, with parental support. They remain infantilised until the day that parental safety blanket is ripped away – by death, divorce, or the need to move away from home – and then they are suddenly, shockingly, exposed to situations for which they are woefully unprepared.
Needless to say, there are not happy at that point.
However, even during the “cocoon” phase, studies show that kids who have everything done for them suffer from anxiety and depression at a greater rate – and as the post-war generations have progressively shielded their kids from more and more of life’s harsh realities, the rates of depression in the population have soared.
Human beings instinctively know that life takes effort. We enjoy the moments of rest and freedom, but we enjoy them because of the contrast with “real life”. In the absence of major challenges from the outside, we hunt for “problems” amongst the minor ups and downs of daily life.
Kids as young as eight are worrying that they will have to support their parents financially when they grow up. These are comfortably middle-class American kids I am talking about. Suze Orman wrote an article for the Readers Digest in which she recounted the story of visiting a third grade class and asking them what their financial worries were. One child piped up with “I am worried that Mum and Dad will run out of money when they are too old to work and I will have to take care of them.”
Expecting this to be a rare thought, perhaps due to a particular family situation, Suze said “Does anyone else have that worry?” – and about half the class raised their hands.
Data shows that the greatest risk factor for bankruptcy is being middle-class and having children. These are some of the most pampered and protected children on the planet. These are the kids whose parents want them to “just be kids”.
These are the kids carrying huge financial worries – and unable ever to talk to anyone about it.
“Run along and play, don’t you worry about that” won’t cut it.
We need to prepare kids to deal with money from the day they first want to spend it. We need to talk openly with kids about financial issues – at an age-appropriate level. Most importantly, we need to recognise that they can and do think very responsible thoughts about money issues – but without the perspective or knowledge required to feel confident about that responsibility.
We don’t shield kids from problems when we tell ourselves “money is a worry for grown-ups, not kids” – we just isolate them from the solutions.
Cash-Smart Kids YouTube Competition Update – July 14th
Written by Jenny on July 14, 2008I had an email last week from Steve Gillman, from unusualwaystomakemoney.com – he has had a link from his site to the Cash-Smart Kids site for a few months now. He’s going to be letting his subscribers know about the competition, so I am looking forward to hearing about some unusual businesses!
If you’re stuck for an idea to get your business going, have a look at Steve’s list of ways for kids to make money.
Still waiting on a large number of promised entries … you know who you are! As I say every week – get them in!
I can’t promote your videos and Hubs if I don’t have them …
Goal-Setting For Kids
Written by Jenny on July 11, 2008very now and again, we get some feedback from our subscribers, and having been raised on the old adage “Don’t Get A Big Head”, I am usually reluctant to share it.
However, this man has such passion for his mission, I just had to publish his comments. If you’re in the UK, you might have his program at a school near you one day.
Hi Chris and Jenny,
Love what you’re doing and how on the ball you are… got to be, there is a mission, A GOAL to be achieved, to make this a better world for our kids !!!
As you know this is a global problem, kids and many adults are not financially educated and scared to do anything, it is the regular challenge that I’m sure you and I, all come up against.
That is why I have set up GET BUZZY Education, I have been involved in using and teaching personal development for the last 16 years and it has changed my life in so many ways, especially being introduced to goal setting, this is why in a moment of challenge and inspiration I wrote “Millionaire mind at 9″, because at 36 years of age I was introduced to goals, which I should have been taught in school, at least at 9 y.o.
From 35 years in the workforce, 25 yrs of that running and building businesses and 16 years of that motivating and teaching adults and kids in many environments. I came to realise and investigated that there is a lack of materials for kids in 2 areas. That is goals and financial education.
I did workshops for 15 to 20 year olds at a college where there were 4000+ students and the Head principal told me they run no classes on financial education, my workshops were about the amazing opportunities that are around in the way of multiple income streams and yet we are still teaching “go out and get a job” ????
My experience is that all kids have goals and if they are unleashed, they will do amazing things now and in the future and many will make the world better. I did another class on monday with 80 kids from 6 to 11 years with my ” Magical Achievement Tree” an introduction to goals and this also involves feedback, interaction and involvement from parents, one of aims.
They all got it and even the principal was surprised and she commented how the kids all got involved and knew what they wanted, it was a real joy !
Goals to me are where it all starts and many goals require funding and that is why I also promote getting financially educated to all ages.
Regards, Thanks and Best wishes,
Live, Love & Laugh
Joe C Estrada (Mr GOALS)
EDUCATE (kids) to SUCCEED – GET BUZZY Education – www.getbuzzy.org – Kids make the future
L.M. Montgomery teaches us about the Law of Attraction!
Written by Jenny on July 9, 2008Today we welcome back Amanda Van Der Gulik, writing from the scenic Prince Edward Island, home of Anne of Green Gables.
Dear Parents,
I am presently in Prince Edward Island on a wonderful two week vacation with my 6 and 4 year old and my ever supportive husband. We are having an amazing time!
My husband and I went last night to see the newest island musical, “The Nine Lives of L.M. Montgomery”. It was a musical biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s life. Maud (as she
preferred to be called) was our famous Canadian author of the beloved, “Anne of Green Gables“ book.
The musical was absolutely incredible. As we were watching this incredibly accurate account of her life I was
inspired to focus on the life lessons that we can learn from Lucy Maud Montgomery’s life story that we can share with our children to help them to grow up to become strong, independent, entrepreneurial souls.
Here are some of the lessons that I learned last night:
1. Although Maud grew up in a world that was quite negative and dreary she was determined to write stories, novels, and poems that would inspire readers. She chose optimism over pessimism in her writing. It was a place where she could live the life that she really wanted to live, with no limits.
Here are the lessons of perseverance, determination, and the desire to leave behind her a better legacy than was her actual life experience.
How often have you become upset with your circumstances and wanted to just ‘give up’?
Use Maud as an example of someone who lived the life she wanted to
live, even if it was only in her stories. She found her escape and she
was determined to give all of her heroines a happy ending even if her
own life lacked happy endings.
Teach your child never to give up, and to find a way to make the things happen that they wish to happen.
Teach them to create happiness for others even when the going gets tough for them personally.
2. Near the end of the play, one of Maud’s characters, Marigold, mentions how Maud may have suffered her tragic life because she expected all of the negative things in her life to come true.
She made life hard on herself by keeping her true emotions locked up inside and only ever letting go in her writing (but even there, she always kept her walls up). She expected bad things to happen to her because they always had. She assumed that good things could only even happen to her in her stories. And so she lived up to her expectations.
I was very impressed with this insight, and refer it to the “law of attraction”.
She expected bad things to happen and so they did. She felt she wasn’t deserving of good and so she wasn’t. It wasn’t until after her death, when she could no longer assume only the negative, that she is finally given the full credit she so thoroughly deserved while she was alive.
What are you doing in your life that is stopping you from achieving your own happiness.
Keep a close eye on your child and how they are reacting to life. Are they expecting good things to happen to them or bad?
Make sure you step in and point it out to them, in either case, so that they may see for themselves what their thoughts are doing for their actions.
3. Maud was shown in this musical portrayal to take charge of her career. When the publisher she had signed her contract with for “Anne of Green Gables
Through years of suffering and endless lawyers bills she finally won the right to her writing freedom.
It took persistence and the absolute attitude that she knew she was being
treated wrongly and that she deserved better to finally win this
victory. But now her family and her PEI island are able to continue to
receive their much deserved royalties and literary rights rather than
her corrupt publisher.
Who in your life is taking advantage of you? What are you doing about it?
Are there any bullies in your child’s school taking advantage of your child? Are they fighting for their rights or just letting themselves be run over?
There are school and private programs that help teach bully victims how to cope with bullies, and I would encourage you to look into these support groups if your child is being victimised.
Don’t let your child grow up letting others take advantage of them. They will need good strong independent characters to become successful entrepreneurs.
They will need a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong as well as the instinctive insight to what is really in the grey areas of life.
These are only some of the incredible lessons to be learned from Maud’s life but these were the ones I felt were most important to pass on to our kids to support their future entrepreneurial souls.
Here’s to your child’s ongoing financial success!
Cheers….Amanda van der Gulik….Excited Life Enthusiast!
www.TeachingChildrenAboutMoney.com
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To Learn More Great Lessons on How to Teach Your Children About Money,
Take a Look at My “Insider’s Secrets to Raising a Future Millionaire” eBook.
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Cash-Smart Kids YouTube Competition Update – July 7th
Written by Jenny on July 7, 2008A short post this week, because I have been sick and haven’t caught up on the competition updates from around the world.
Still waiting on news from the publishers, and still waiting on a large number of promised entries – come on, it’s summer holidays in the US now – no more excuses!
Much more next week, I promise …
Kids Learn Business This Summer
Written by Jenny on July 4, 2008
From last week’s MyCentralJersey.com comes news of another great initiative.
Middle school and high school students will create their own businesses – working alongside successful New Jersey business owners — at the Young Entrepreneur’s Academy, an eight-week, Summer Saturday series, July 11-August 23 at the Academic Resource Center, which serves middle and high school students in Essex and Union Counties.
Open to boys and girls ages 11-17, YEA! uses the fundamentals of entrepreneurship to promote creativity, basic understanding and skills in money management, business concepts and financial literacy. It encourages students to frame their dreams, and current interests into future money making and career satisfying professional options. Using tactical problem-solving approaches, the program enhances confidence, creativity, self esteem and self reliance.
It’s so great to see these small programs popping up – of course, you can’t hope to get all the concepts across in just a handful of Saturdays, but exposure to the concepts is a great first step, and the kids will retain some of the material, each in their own way.
At least there are summer activity options beyond making candles and going to camp these days!
Image: riot jane
Does Your Great Grandma Have Her Hand In Your Wallet?
Written by Jenny on July 2, 2008
I was just reading an article today, and I thought I’d share it with you all, because it really makes an excellent point.
The writer moved into a new house, and found a “buried treasure”. I’ll let you read the details for yourself, but the point of the article is wondering what sort of mindset you would need to have to stash what was, for the time, a small fortune, in a corner of your house and keep no record of doing so.
Why do people have such fearful attitude towards money?
What’s worse, if such attitudes existed in our family in the past, how do we free ourselves of them in the here-and-now?
Because if we don’t, those inherited attitudes will poison any efforts we make to get ahead financially, or to teach our kids better habits with money. As Catherine writes,
While it is obvious that you have inherited some wonderful family traits like beautiful blue eyes, musical talent, sense of humor, passion for the arts or a grand work ethic, there is also a very good chance that you have also inherited a strong fear or even aversion to wealth and abundance.
It seems ludicrous to think that we might have fear of or aversion to wealth and abundance, when we think that we desire those things so passionately.
The messages, though, are quite subtle, yet pervasive.
For example, are you offended and annoyed by the blatant prejudice against wealthy people displayed by mainstream TV dramas?
Or hadn’t you noticed?
Choosing an example at random from my recent experience, my family watched an episode of Law And Order SVU yesterday. In this program, a young woman fell from a penthouse balcony. During the course of the program, the wealthy family who owned the penthouse were gradually exposed to have little or no family affection, an amoral willingness to manipulate the system to prevent their kids from suffering the consequences of breaking the rules, a sense of entitlement, and incestuous emotional dynamics. Oh, and the habit of procuring prostitutes for the boys in the family from age 13 or so.
This is not uncommon. In fact, if you run through in your mind the various protraits of wealthy families, both documentary and dramatised, can you find even ONE example of a hard-working, self-sacrificing, loving parent who does all the right things for their kids in terms of encouragement and emotional support – and is wealthy?
We are told, by our family programming and by our culture, that if we become wealthy we will be unloving parents.
I personally know several families who have millions in assets and/or seven figure incomes. For the most part, they are more caring, emotionally mature, and pleasant to associate with than your average office worker, school teacher, or nurse.
It bugs me when I see these lousy portrayals of wealthy families in the media. If they were consistently stereotyping black people or Mexicans in the same way, there would be uproar and protests in the street! I know the image doesn’t match the reality.
Sure, some wealthy people have bad attitudes, especially those who were born into wealth.
But on average, you will find more love, compassion, emotional maturity and spiritual development in a bunch of self-made millionaires than you will in just about any group of employees.
So, there you are – that’s one place to look for those hidden fears and aversions to being wealthy. Let’s see how many others you can come up with for yourselves …
Image: freeparking