So Your Kid Wants To Get Into Business? Help Guide Them
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The most common answers you’ll get from children when you ask them what they want to be when they grow up are occupations like astronaut, singer, artist, sporting star, actor and soldier. These are all greatly respected roles but they’re very mainstream. Most children don’t ever say they want to start their own business. Many of us are bitten by the business bug when we get older and we learn about the salary you can make and the opportunities there are to really have an impact in the world by working as a high level business employee or owner. But what if your child does look up to you and confess that business is attracting them? Well, it depends on what age they are really. If they’re too young to do anything about it reasonably, then you can start them off small by buying them toys that revolve around business. However if your kid is in their teens, you definitely have a plethora of options you can show them. Some of the greatest business people started off when they were in their early or late teens so, get proactive and get involved in your child’s passion.
Read with them
The basic thing parents can do for their children is just be there for them as they learn. Business requires a lot of reading, knowing about how to go on and perform certain tasks and learning about various industries will take time. Speak to your children and ask them what kind of businesses they are interested in. Then go out or shop online for books that would help them in their pursuit. Look for the most successful people in those particular industries or sectors and see if they have written a book. This is usually the case as many young entrepreneurs will often read how their business heroes did it. There’s also a lot of information online which is freely and readily accessible. Sit and read with them, help them to understand certain things they don’t. If they would rather read alone that’s fine, but tell them that you can answer question for them if they’re stuck. For example, they might not know what corporation tax is just in terms of the premise. You can explain these things to them in basic terms and get them to understand simple structures of how business and government works.
Show them money management
Let’s be honest, it’s common for the main reason kids want to get into business is because they want to be rich. There’s nothing wrong with that at all so don’t do what some parents do and try to make them feel bad for wanting a lot of money. Money in life gives us options. It may not make us better people or even ultimately make us happy, but it does allow us to explore different avenues. Yet, money is not a toy and it should be treated very seriously. Teach your children the basics of money management. This can be done by sitting them down and running them through your own budget. They’ll learn about managing money when you have bills to pay, clothes to buy, food to put in the fridge and fixing things when they’re broke such as the car or household items.
With this skill, they can compartmentalize what it means to manage funds and profits in business. They’ll learn about priority spending, emergency fund creation, spending the least amount to get the biggest result, etc. Suddenly money will no longer become just something you spend on things, but pay employees their salaries, invest back into the business, saving up for a rainy day and using money essentially as a tool to further your ambitions in products and services.
The intricacies of performing
Day in and day out, the day to day tasks of a business will need to be completed. Step by step, hour by hour, tasks that further your possibility of success need to be managed. This is why you may want to introduce your child to the various Online Programmes at Aston which is an online university. They have the option of learning administration which is all about the internal cogs of a business and getting paperwork and schedules done in an efficient and professional manner while also maintaining a wide-range view. One of the more popular programs they have is business management which is all about the intricacies of actually performing the tasks and understanding how you could improve your competencies.
Another program is international accounting and finance which is perhaps the most complex but also the most rewarding. Financial planning is an incredibly vital part of any business, and it’s absolutely paramount that your child understands this side of business. Without financial stability no business can ever hope to live for too long. However the international side of the program is crucial to understanding the global economy and how one market can affect another. And since business is now international no matter what size you are, it’s important that your child knows how they can enter foreign markets and plan expansions into new consumer territories.
Give them self-belief
One thing that most children lack when they first begin to take an interest in business is self-belief. Don’t mistake ambition for self-belief because they want to be successful and rich but they might be plagued with a lot of doubt in their abilities to reach their goals. Your simple job as the parent of a child with hopes and dreams is to encourage them, make them believe in themselves. Guidance is so valuable to children, because they are trying to venture out and do something on their own. They don’t have the knowledge just yet, but giving them confidence to succeed begins in the home. Stop them from thinking too negatively about themselves and using the word ‘can’t to describe their abilities.
It’s a wonderful thing for young children to be so excited and involved in business. Show them what kinds of programs that have available to them which can teach them management and finances so they can begin to be more independently minded.