Why are entrepreneurial skills important for children, regardless if they become an entrepreneur in the future?

Why are entrepreneurial skills important for children, regardless if they become an entrepreneur in the future?

There are many skillsets that are developed through children entrepreneurial training, and the following are skills I would like to highlight for children now and for their future.

1.      The ability to work in a team

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” African proverb.

As Al Gore mentioned, “We must go far, quickly”. Teamwork is a non-negotiable skill, moreover in the modern era where almost nothing can be done alone. In order to execute a PR campaign, you need to propose your idea together with your graphic designer and copywriter. When you form a business, you need teammates to assist you in different areas of tasks, such as overseeing operations, managing budget, so on so forth.

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Parents may ask… How do we build teamwork while training children to do business?

Simple! They learn to work in a team while providing solution to an industrial problem, together. When they have the same mission, these groups of children find ways and highlight each others’ strengths. Some are good in generating ideas, some are good with designs, some are capable of public speaking or event scripting – these children decide their own roles and chipping in their qualities.

With all these qualities combined, they’ll be able to build a high-performing team, regardless of working together physically or virtually!

2.      Need for problem solving skill in every industry

Being an entrepreneur requires problem-solving in many ways, from troubleshooting issues in the production stage to negotiating with suppliers on the quality of materials, and even in customer-facing roles when someone has expressed dissatisfaction.

Now, how do we train problem solving skills in children?

Instead of providing information to children, start with asking them to solve a smaller issue. For example, during our previous project to expose children to animation industry, instead of introducing the whole animation industry to our children, we choose a topic “Mascot Design” – focusing on allowing children to choose a brand of their choice, and design a mascot for the brand of their choice

Try it back at home, focus on a smaller issue at a time, and encourage children to solve it. They may struggle at first, but as we encourage, they’ll be able to solve in no time!

3.      Networking skills: Networking with CEOs from the age of 10

Networking skills are important for both business owners and professionals. Many self-help books, blogs and articles shared about the importance of networking skills – why not we start them young?

Imagine if they started networking with CEOs since the age of 10, how big of a network would they have once they turn 18 and are ready to start their own company?

Children gain self confidence as they receive recognition from CEOs. If they perform well, these business owners are able to remember their names too!

Furthermore, interacting with CEOs from different professions, nationalities, and cultures gives them a broader scope of life.

4.      Resilience and perseverance

In the book by Angela Duckworth – ‘Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance’ portrayed many case studies in terms of why people succeed even if they’re not the most talented, and why some people fail even with the right skills and knowledge.

With a “never give up” attitude, the passion to move forward, and endurance to persevere through challenges. By developing these in children, they are fast-tracked to becoming someone who can face storms and overcome any challenge thrown their way along their entrepreneurial journey.

5.      Creativity

I often say this to my clients, “AI can invent a new car anytime, new designs and new features; but if you ask a child, can you imagine and design a car without 4 wheels? They can do it anytime with their creativity, and they’re able to create things that AI (Artificial Intelligence) have not seen before.”

The power of creativity is unlimited for a child’s imagination, and this is something that we should help facilitate and unlock in children to reach their maximum creativity.

Let’s build entrepreneurial skills in our children

What are your thoughts on these skills? Reflecting back, did you have a chance to develop or tap into these skills as a child?

#skills #childentrepreneurship #futureofwork