60% of Americans Aspire to be Entrepreneurs. Is Your Kid One of Them?

Inspired by the huge successes of young entrepreneurs, many Americans are now aspiring to run their own business empire. What's more, the need to nurture these skills from an early age has compelled parents to strongly encourage entrepreneurship development amongst their children. Thus, they become more attuned to knowledge and information on how to nurture these skills, and even implement daily activities which aim to develop these skills from pre-school onwards.

Indeed, the emphasis on entrepreneurship has gained ground in recent years due to massive layoffs and restructuring in corporate America. The lucrative profits made by business owners as compared to the absence of job security in employment, has prompted many to become self-employed.

What is encouraging though is that studies have shown that entrepreneurship can be learned and developed. It is not an in-born gift as many believe. Traits such as creative thinking, discipline, independence, confidence, strong communication skills, the ability to take risks, motivation and persistence can all be learnt and acquired over time.

However, in order to give our children a head start, these traits need to be developed from a young age. A study conducted by a former director of the Center of Entrepreneurial Leadership has discovered that entrepreneurial traits are already demonstrated by one in four kids while still at kindergarten. The down side to this is that if these skills are not developed during grade school, only 3% of high school graduates will utilize these abilities.

These findings reinforce the fact that as children don't develop these skills in school, parents play a vital role in facilitating the development of these abilities. First, they need to teach their children the value of money. Apart from that, parents could involve their children in the process of making adult decisions. This will help them develop their maturity and decision-making skills. Another initiative parents could take is to pay their children to perform chores around the house, so that they are able to make the connection between working and earning money.

As for older kids, parents function as the mentor to their kids' business ideas, providing positive input for idea expansion and improvement. In addition, parents are also in a position to help their kids develop their first business plan, and also to put their plan into action. Children could start with any small business ideas, a newspaper delivery business, dog-walking or even tutoring. In addition, parents need to constantly use positive reinforcements on their kids in order to boost self-esteem and confidence.

Last but not least, to encourage teamwork and exchange of ideas with their peers, kids should also be enrolled in entrepreneurial programs such as the Kids and Business seminars. These programs will help to infuse new insights, incorporate leadership skills and formally impart business skills to kids. Most importantly, these programs are essential to cover areas where parents are not equipped to teach. Ultimately, these kids will be ready with a full set of entrepreneurial skills that they can use to jumpstart their business.