Business-minded, a phrase often used as a slur, is in fact a pretty essential and useful skill for all, including children and teens. Getting your child ready to take on risks can be a challenging one but is an important aspect in helping them develop a growth mind-set and inhibit the confidence and resilience that is needed to be successful in business well as life.
Hence, here are some ways you can help your teen incline more towards having a ‘business mind’ per say:
Encourage Entrepreneurship or For Starters, a Side Hustle
The one way that tops our list is giving the teens an opportunity to start their own business or side hustle. This could be something as simple as monetizing their passion or hobby like selling handmade crafts or baked goods, expanding to a more advanced thing such as offering a service like lawn care or tutoring. It is indeed a great way to develop valuable business skills, as by starting their own business, the teens can obtain a first-hand experience when it comes to challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship and learn skills of marketing, financial management, and problem-solving.
For a further push, here are some additional ideas for helping your teenager be more business minded:
- Back to Basics aka Books and Articles: Reading about successful entrepreneurs and business strategies could be a simple, yet effective way to soak in the basics of the business world and sprout ideas for their own ventures.
- Getting Closer to Community: Participating in community service or volunteering for a local non-profit could be a great tool to familiarise the teens with the needs of their community and to identify the problems at large. This can further help in developing solutions or business ideas for them.
- Enrolling in Business-related classes or better, a business club!: Being present in the company of business experts and like-minded individuals can stimulate and shape the brain into a certain business direction and also encourage bounding of ideas off each other.
- Encouraging them to seek out Mentors: Connecting with a mentor who is experienced in business can bring in valuable guidance and solid advice as they explore entrepreneurship.
- Pushing Creative Thinking: Encourage an out of the box thinking and encourage the teenager to come up with unique business ideas.
Lessons about Financial Literacy
Financial literacy is a must for anyone interested in business, and more so when it comes to teenagers who might just be starting out their journey of figuring out finances for the very first time. Teaching your teenager about budgeting, saving, investing, and credit can help them make informed financial decisions and set them up for success in their future business endeavours. Here’s how:
- Start Early: Stick to the classic, the earlier, the better. By teaching the young ones about money at a young age, you can help them develop good financial habits from the very start which can prove to serve them well throughout their lives.
- Use real-life examples: Real-life examples could play as a great instrument in getting to know small to big financial concepts. For example, you could take them through your own budget and explain how you yourself allocate money for the household.
- Encourage them to save: Introduce them to the importance of saving and further encourage them to set aside a portion of their allowance, pocket money or any money they might be earning from a part-time job.
- Teach them about the value of a money: It’s best advice to begin by clearing the myth that money doesn’t grow on trees and that it takes hard (and smart) work and lots of careful planning to earn and save it.
Encourage them to be responsible with credit: If your teenager is old enough to own a credit card, it isn’t just about teaching them how to use it, instead how to use it responsibly. An instance of which could be paying off the balance in full each month and avoiding overspending.
Encourage Them to Get Involved in Business-Related Extracurricular Activities
There is a plethora of extracurricular activities that can help teenagers explore business skills, such as, as previously discussed – business clubs, entrepreneurship competitions, and internships. Encourage participation in such activities to make way for business kinda learnings and development of a network with like-minded individuals.
- Business Clubs: Many high schools and colleges have business clubs that offer students the opportunity to learn about business and connect with like-minded individuals on a more legit level. Joining these could assist the teenager in building valuable connections.
- Entrepreneurship Competitions: Just like biz clubs, plenty schools and organizations host entrepreneurship competitions that give business enthusiast the opportunity to pitch their own business ideas to a panel of judges or experts. Giving these competitions a try could help gain valuable experience and fetch in constructive feedback.
- Seeking out Internships: Internships are popular in offering hands-on experience and even some stipend! In fact, looking and applying for as many internships as possible will also help take notes on the industry needs and standards.
- Business Conferences and Events: Many cities and/or organisations host conferences and events focused on business, entrepreneurship, and leadership throughout the year. Attending these events could facilitate lots of learning and also give the teenagers a chance to connect with industry professionals.
Make Business News and Current Events Part of The Daily Chat
Keep your teenager informed and up to date with current events and business news is an essential and can only be made possible with everyday discussions. Not only will they learn about the different factors that impact businesses but also help them walk with the present trends.
- The key is Interactive Conversation: Focus more on them asking questions and actively sharing their own opinions and insights about business news and current events.
- Make use of Real-Life Instances: Use current events and business news as an opportunity to touch diverse financial concepts. Market trends and economic indicators, to name a few.
- Encourage them to Research and Learn more: Push and cultivate curiosity in them so they themselves get in the habit of doing their own research and learning more about topics, business news and current events here, that interest them.
- Ensure Ethical Implications of Business aren’t left out: In the world of business, having a strong ethical ground is a very tricky yet extremely important thing. Don’t forget to push them into thinking about the ethical implications of business news and current events. For example, you could discuss the role of corporate responsibility in the business world and how businesses can impact society and the environment.
- Adaptation of a creative and risk taking attitude: Train your teenager to think creatively and not shy away from taking calculated risks. This could mean encouraging them to come up with new business ideas or say trying out new marketing strategies for an existing business. One can’t do business without taking risks and trying out new things.
- Encourage Innovation: Innovative idea, even if it seems a little crazy at first, is the heart of any and every business. Considering all possibilities and not being afraid to take a chance on something that may not have been done before, could take them a long way.
- Help them develop a Growth Mindset: The teen must see the challenges and setbacks as opportunities to learn and grow, rather than failures. This can help them be more resilient and better equipped to take on new challenges.
- Provide Resources and Support: Offer your teenager a pool of reliable resources, such as books, articles, or online courses to help them explore different business strategies and techniques. Additionally, also consider providing support such as financial assistance or connections to potential mentors or business partners.
- Encourage them to Network and Seek out New Opportunities: Encourage your teenager to network and seek out new opportunities to grow. This could mean attending local business events or joining business-focused clubs or organizations.
As we highlighted, overall, there exist many ways to encourage a young mind to be business-minded. By giving the brand new generation opportunities to start their own businesses, familiarising them with financial literacy and lingo, and simply dipping their feet in business-kinda way of thought, you can pave the way for your child’s successful journey into the business world.
