Today I am writing about how you can prepare the younger generation to become an entrepreneur.
After a while, as an entrepreneur, you know you can only go so far, and then you rely on your younger ones to take it further. But have you prepared them for that?
Why does it matter?
Schools, universities, management institutes don’t teach you to start a business, they teach you to do the job. The skills you need to start a business: how to choose a product, how to assess the potential market, how to create a business model, how to raise funds, how to market, are not taught in engineering, management or other courses.
In fact, a graduate doesn’t know fundamentals of business because the curriculum only includes theoretical or technical concepts. Universities taught them concepts but didn’t teach how to monetize them? They were left on their own with this basic knowledge.
Many economists and industrialists say that the Indian education system needs to be overhauled to meet the needs of the present and future generations.
But instead of waiting for such a revamp, parents can instill entrepreneurial traits in the younger generation.
1) Make them understand the value of money.
I once visited an NGO and found an interesting concept of teaching children the value of money.
They gave each child a ticket (plastic card) when they did something good, like cleaning up their stuff, cleaning common areas and so on. Kids could keep tickets in the lockers of a temporary bank that was set up inside the NGO.
Now they were to use these tickets to fetch things like pens, pencils, balls, etc.
An interesting concept to teach them the value of money. Although it may not be practical for parents to do this, but you can take inspiration from such concepts and develop your own methods to teach them this value.
2) Create a library for them
Create a library and replenish it with age-appropriate books from time to time. Reading plays a very important role here, it develops logical thinking, increase presence of mind, gives them the ability to decide, keeps their mind active, etc.
Let them read books but also ask them to start library out of the collection. They can lend books to friends and acquaintances if they get a few bucks in return.
This exercise can help them develop management skills.
3) Prepare them for failure.
Children need to be prepared to deal with failure. It is becoming more and more necessary to make them understand it is not all about winning and why failures are important too. It will make them emotionally strong if they face it at an early age.
It is better to let them fail in your presence than when they are alone and have to face the world.
4) Prepare them for public speaking
One of the most valued skills of today and the future. Basic technical skills will become common in the coming times, and communication or public speaking skills will help to make all the needed difference from others.
5) Make them compete in competitive exams
By participating in competitions, they learn and realize that getting results is not easy. People need to work hard consistently, only then the results will come.
If you do this, hard work will become a habit for them and then they will develop smart work skills on their own.
6) Let them do small business in their late teens.
Coaching other kids, you tubing, doing internships, especially marketing, will give them these necessary skills at an early age. They will know how one can earn money by selling a product or service.
7) Make them fearless
Let them take risks at a young age. They should develop the ability to think through the outcome of the decisions they will make. Don’t decide everything for them, but leave some things up to them.
Businesses prosper when entrepreneurs take calculated risks at the right time.
This will prepare them to take such risks.
8) Include a lot of ghee/ clarified butter in their diet
Now, this may look surprising. It surprised me as well when I first read it. In one of her books, Rujuta Diweker so succinctly stated the reason why Marwaris/Gujaratis are great at business is because they eat lot of Ghee.
Examples of big businesses owned by such people - Reliance, Big Bazaar, Birla Group, UltraTech Cement are all owned by such people.
Their diet contains a lot of ghee, which increases their presence of mind, makes them active and smart.
To better understand, relate this to why Sikhs are heavy, one of the contributing factors is their large consumption of dairy products.
The above 8 are some of the most important ones if you want to develop business traits in the young generation.
This post is a part of Blogchatter A-Z Challenge- #blogchatterA2Z. Check out my A-Z Challenge theme, and read previous posts.