Starting Your Child Down the Entrepreneurial Path

One of the things I really think would have helped me out later in life is the opportunity to have started life out as an entrepreneur rather than an employee. Some parents instill that spirit into their children early on in life, while others preach that it’s better to go to school, get good grades, and then get in with a solid company where there is room for advancement.

Mine taught neither of those values, and instead I watched as my family took from the rich and gave to… well, themselves! When they went off to prison for hi-jacking and armed robbery I had the opportunity to learn a different set of ideals from my foster parents.

I don’t bring up my past to gain sympathy, but to show that there are a lot of different ways an individual may be brought up and ultimately it’s up to him/her to choose which works best for themselves. I do have to say that of these three the entrepreneurial system seems to be the one that has taught me the most, and brought about the most reward in my life.

So when and how should you introduce this concept to your future Bill or Melinda Gates? Lemonade stands, and newspaper routes were popular when I was a kid, but these days you might have a better chance of getting their interest in choosing something that either ties in with a hobby they have, or something more generation appropriate such as the INTERNET!

Running a website is fun, and challenging at the same time, and while you might like to think you know more about the digital world, I’d be willing to bet that changes by the time they hit 12! LOL

If an online business or blog is the route you take you should establish some ground rules prior to getting them setup and registered with a domain name, and teaching them how to install WordPress etc.

A Few Rules to Consider

1. No sharing of personal information such as phone number, address, etc. Without parents’ permission. (There may be times when it’s appropriate such as when signing up for a product or service for their blog, but the parent should determine which sites are safe vs. unsafe to do so.)


2. No bullying period.


3. Time restrictions based on house rules.


4. Teach them how to become good Netizen.


5. Have rules in place regarding downloading files from the internet, and which pose higher risks as well as which types of websites are more prone to viruses, and Trojans.


6. Teach them about password security.


7. Discuss whether or not posting pictures will be appropriate for your situation.

These are just a few and you’ll want to sit down and come up with a list that you both agree on, and explain why each one is in place.

Just because this may look like a hobby doesn’t mean you shouldn’t teach them how to succeed at it. Have them invest in themselves by reading books related to the various skills they are using and learning.

Have them track expenses for hosting and images, etc. as well as any income earned from running AdSense etc. This might be a good time to teach them about cashflow and developing assets such as Twitter accounts, and Fan pages, that they can grow and leverage.

It might be a good thing to remind them that what happens on the internet stays on the internet, so building a reputation goes both ways – Good and bad.

Kids tend to have more time on their hands than the rest of us, so a good use of that time prior to launching the “business” and while the ground rules are being established might be researching the perfect domain name. 90% of the people online invest less than an hour researching and choosing one, and the other 10% buy existing valuable ones. Take some time, and you’d be surprised what you might find!

via Business 2 Community http://ift.tt/Mxf453