Entrepreneurs think differently. Entrepreneurs build stuff in their obsessive daily quest to find value. They invent things, create companies, generate jobs. I love it, not only because it is good for our world to have lots of people thinking this way, but because it is an excellent attitude to life where anything is possible. It is a world full of potential, if you are prepared to work for it.
I wondered how I could teach this way of thinking to my kids and came up with a plan.
I gave my 7 year old son Henry $10 and explained to him that he could not keep it for himself but had to spend it on materials that he could use to sell something. For example, he could by a bucket and some car soap to wash 5 neighbors’ cars for $4 and make $20 out of the original investment.
He thought a lot about it and was very excited. He decided to buy wooden beads, thread and plastic sandwich bags to start a jewelry business. He made an excellent prototype and then we talked about our plan, which he wrote on the whiteboard. Here’s what he did.
He made a bunch of different designs, designed a logo in Illustrator and sold them to neighbors and friends. Out of the original $10 investment, he made $35. Now he thinks like an entrepreneur.