The ABC's of Entrepreneurship According to Erica

That was the question I asked 25 Grade 2 students this morning. And I got a gamut of answers! businessmen, lawyers, nurses, doctors, an opera singer (yes I laughed at this), a celebrity (what career is that exactly?), a baseball player, a hockey player, go into my daddy's business, and a juggler.

Yes, I just left my son's school for Parents as Teachers Day. I volunteered for this once-a-year day last year, and I was excited to return again this year.

The minute I walked into the class, I saw my son's face. The smile was ear to ear! If he coulda crawled back into the womb, believe me, he would have. Of course he was totally misbehaving and showing off in front of his friends. Up and down, talking out of turn, chatting non-stop. But I let it go because nine out of ten times, he's such a rule follower and an absolute joy.

After I listened to the kids' answers of what they wanted to be when they grow up, I put two words on the Smart Board ENTREPRENEUR and KIDPRENEUR. A few actually knew the word: my son obviously knew the word he's lived with an entrepreneur since he was born. But most kids didn't.

When I read the definition of entrepreneur' (from a kid's book I will tell you about soon), things like: you are your own boss, you set your own hours, you make your own money and generally, if you want more money, you have to work harder. You don't have to ask anyone when you want to go on vacation. You make the rules. You have to work as hard as all the people who work for you, and then harder. You have to know ALL the jobs in your company, etc You could have heard a pin drop. They were interested.

Then, I got to see the sheer sparkle in their eyes. Their brains were working, imagining a life of possibility! This notion that their whole life still lies ahead of them, and that they can pick and choose how they want to live it, seemed to impress them endlessly.

That moment made me realize that some people my own age, or even older, still don't know what they want to be 'when they grow up'. It made me think of the many people working jobs they hate. Living a life of routine because there are bills to pay and mouths to feed. But that's life. That's reality. And it's tough in adulthood to just press the reset button and get a redo. That is what was so pure and exciting to teach these children about the future. And about the now. That it's never too early to plan to plan what you want to be, to save your money, to get organized.

Today I'm going to encourage allmothers and grandmothers, aunts and sisters, to get the book KIDPRENEURS for the kids in your life.

Your children are the future! It's important to teach them all the possibilities and avenues at an age where they are discovering the world around them. It'd good to get kids thinking outside the box, and this book can get the ball rolling. Are they too young to start their own business now? Obviously! But as I pointed out to the Grade 2 class, even making a lemonade stand is entrepreneurial. You have to make good, tasty lemonade, sell it at the right price, find customers, understand the costs involved, set a selling price, and decide what you're going to do with your profits. For example, in our lemonade stands, my boys get to keep $1.00-2.00 each, and the rest put in their bank account, or give to charity). Selling chocolate bars is very entrepreneurial as well. Our kids are never too young to start.

I don't think we need to shelter them as much as we were sheltered. I think we should expose our kids and then let them make their own choices. My boys know all the swear words, but they don't use them. They know about where babies come from. They know about death. Not every intricate detail, but if they ask, I answer. Every time. It's just the way I am. To me, knowledge is power, not danger, if handled with kit gloves.

So, after the 25 Grade 2 students finished their business plans (I gave them handouts from the book), and I told them they can bring their plans home and work on them with their family, I told them one last simple thing before I left:

You can be ANYTHING you want to be if you set your mind to it, and work hard.

And for you, the adults, who maybe also still haven't figured out what you want to be when you grow up:

You can be ANYTHING you want to be if you set your mind to it, and work hard.

It's never too late.

What do you think??

Erica Diamond, Women On The Fence
		About the author:
		With 18 years sales experience, and 14 years marketing experience, Erica is a born entrepreneur. Erica started Unique Corporate Gifts, a promotional products company she sold 3 years ago. Her business journey has awarded her a Promie Award, Top 40 under 40 Entrepreneur Award, Top 30 under 30 Entrepreneur Award, among numerous others, and finally, The Profit Hot 50 Award - 1 of Canada's 50 Emerging Growth Companies.
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