By Maggie Jordan
One of the most useful attributes one can have in today’s world is the entrepreneurial spirit–whether or not they ever decide to start their own business. These are the five most important skills you can cultivate in your children to foster their inner entrepreneurial spirit.
Financial literacy
Regardless of whether your child ever takes on the title of “entrepreneur,” money is going to be a significant part of their lives. By teaching them the value of money, using it properly, how to invest, etc. they’ll be comfortable with and prepared for the wide world of finance, as well as have a solid financial background to start out with.
Creativity/Innovative Thinking, Exploration, Observation
Encourage the creative mindset, and you encourage innovation and problem-solving. Observation, exploration, and creativity are essential in the entrepreneur’s toolkit, and can be a major part of success in any field of life. Through questions such as “well if [this] frustrates you, how can you make it better?” or repeated “why?” challenges, youth can be encouraged to creatively explore their options and find opportunity.
Self-motivation & Resilience
Like observation, exploration, and creativity, self-motivation and resilience are essential to success in any field–especially in that of entrepreneurship. Help cultivate those skills by demonstrating that drive and ability to bounce back from setbacks to your children, and they should quickly pick up on it.
Goal-Setting
The acronym SMART has become increasingly popular in the world of goal-setting, and for good reason. Teaching how to set Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely goals as well as how to break them down into manageable tasks enables children to not only realize that their dreams are achievable, but make those dreams a reality every single day. In addition, brainstorming sessions to come up with potential obstacles to those goals will help your child develop foresight–a valuable skill in the world of entrepreneurship.
Effective Collaboration, Communication & Networking
“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” and arguably, how you work with them. By emphasizing the importance of good communication, your child can not only learn skills such as how to resolve disputes with classmates, and how to stop them from occurring in the first place, but these skills will carry on throughout their lives and help them in every endeavor he or she chooses. From college recommenders to that teacher in another grade who can help with that difficult science class to the person who helps land that dream job, communication skills are a must in any walk of life.
Bibliography & Extra Resources
LifeHack- 10 Effective Ways to Teach Your Kids About Entrepreneurship
Calendar- 9 Ways to Teach Your Kids Entrepreneurship Early in Life