From a very early age, children learn that money is how we purchase items. From watching a gasoline purchase, or stopping by your local bodega or grocer, we learn how to obtain items for our own consumption, using our own money.
Children that are parented with a reward system tend to learn about being self-employed/reliant at a very early age. A child in scouts that sells popcorn or cookies, understands that by selling more items, they obtain additional prizes. Remember that lemonade stand front down the street that was run by children? What these children have in common is that they are all Kidpreneurs.
As a young person, I was active in a church youth group that taught so many things from basic cake decorating, sand art, leatherwork, all the way to candle making. That exposure promoted the entrepreneurial spirit in me as a 9-year-old girl.
At that age, Janet Meloche and I made a couple of dozen candles that looked like Sundaes. I have to tell you; they were pretty awesome! We were so proud of those things, and we knew we would be rich if we could get a parent to drive us 50 miles to the big flea market.
My father scooped up our inventory, Janet and I. He bought us a booth at one of the biggest flea markets in the state. We sold all of our wares and we were certain we had, in fact, become independently wealthy. That emotional high stays with a kid.
My father, a business owner himself, understood the importance of controlling your own destiny and paycheck. He purchased an ice cream truck business for me, and when I was sixteen years old; I made $125 — $200 dollars a day! I drove around in an old mail truck painted white, that bellowed calliope music, inundated with decals and stickers of every item in my freezer, along with the price. Children ran over to spend money hand over fist every day. This business made great money for the entire summer.
Let’s look at what that business taught me. Not in any order mind you…
1. Accounting
2. Inventory Control
3. Safe driving
4. Marketing
5. Customer Service
6. Basic automotive repair
7. How to be self-employed and self-reliant
8. Time Management
9. And MORE!
That is an education that is not taught in any school. Not at any level. Practice and theory are two very different things. The greatest experience any entrepreneur has is the education gained on the way to success.
In today’s society young entrepreneurs have their own network of support, aside from their parents. Great ideas don’t require a driver’s license, a high school diploma or a degree from a university. We need only look at Facebook or Microsoft to understand.
If you think about it, the majority of us were raised to be self-reliant and eventual business owners. Do you or your child have a great idea or business plan? Are you a young entrepreneur? If so, Digital Asset Monetary Network, Inc. would like to hear from you! Email us at info@DigitalAMN.com and tell us about you, provide your contact information, and make sure your parents are involved if you are under the age of 18.
Teresa Misenheimer