If somebody made a list of the most desirable careers for young people, probably being an entrepreneur would land someplace close to the top. It might not be the easiest of all possible professions, burdened with quite a lot of responsibility and nearly incessant stress, but rewards can be amazing, both financially and in terms of sheer satisfaction of running your own business.
Just like those parents who would like their children to become sportspeople, doctors or lawyers, mom and dads wishing their offspring to turn into successful entrepreneurs might want to pursue some kind of program to lead them there. But is there any foolproof method to get young people ready for the demands of an entrepreneurial life?
Well, first of all, it would be wrong to assume that you need a set of qualifications to become an entrepreneur. While getting a degree might be enough to make somebody a teacher or a doctor, without getting into how good or bad they are at what they do, churning out business minds seems almost absurd. It does not necessarily mean that you cannot do anything to influence your sons and daughters’ future. More often than not, it will be connected with developing particular personality qualities, rather specific abilities.
Probably, one of the most effective ways to inspire your children to become interested in entrepreneurship as a style of life is to practice it yourself. When you are raised in the atmosphere of taking responsibility for the family, business and its employees, you are quite likely to pick it up, especially if it is practiced out of conviction, not out of necessity. It is not only about passion for running business, though, it is also a very disciplined routine that requires a business owner to think about a range of issues others might turn a blind eye to
Before you send your children to some early-stage version of corporate training, you may want to expect from them, in daily life, to complete their tasks at a certain level of quality, within deadlines and conscientiously. This might ensure later that they are dependable and rock-solid when they enter contracts and obligations later in life. Being an entrepreneur means you have to live up to your clients’ expectations on a regular basis, provide stability that will keep them coming back for more and your business to thrive.
Instilling a sense of adventure in youngsters might be another useful tactic. The best business minds are those who can step of of their comfort zones, engage their curiosity in search of opportunities to make a profit and make it happen. It takes a combination of courage, vision and dedication to get something done to bring business ideas to life. In practice, you can let your kids play around with creative toys, test different hobbies and extracurricular activities or set up a lifestyle for the family that foregrounds discovery and minimizes monotony by, for example, going for holiday to different places.
I am a corporate training consultant. I write publications about business education and executive training programs.