enterpriseforkids.com

Inspiring kids to be entrepreneurial.

Enterprising Dinner Table Conversations

September 12th, 2020

What do you think the Howitt’s talk about when around the dinner table?

It always begins with each member of the family sharing a gratitude, then usually the events of the day are told and achievements celebrated; however, what quite often happens next is that topics of business, enterprise, finance and investing govern the conversation.

Flynn Howitt taking his photography to another level. Check out his facebook blog and see what he can do! — Film making and photography have been the key to Flynn’s success in building his social media following

Lately, the topics of interest have been Instagram money making strategies, crypto assets and eCommerce.

Let’s look at these individually and look at how these present opportunities for kids to be entrepreneurial…

Instagram

Our older children, Kaitlin (now 24), Jai (now 22), Flynn (now 20) and Amber (now 18) all discovered social media when they were in their mid-teens. It started with facebook, then Instagram and now Tic Toc and Snap Chat. They discovered how to grow a true following of people by using regular posts of quality content about their lives. It helped living on a paradise Tropical Island atoll in the middle of the Indian Ocean- photos and videos here always look fabulous!

Kaitlin Howitt co-creating inspirational workshops with like minded people. Enterprising teen to entrepreneur. — Creating workshops that inspire has become Kaitlin passion.

As their following grew, so did their opportunities for enterprise. It began with something called ‘shoutouts’. Here other people/companies would pay cash for the enterprising kids to mention them in a post. This helps these people/companies grow their followers or promote their wares… and my kids were happy for the cash!

Next came real products. Companies would send them clothing, watches, surf gear and jewellery to wear and share on their Instagram accounts. The kids would get to keep the gear!

Following that, companies would not only send the gear, but also pay for the promotions. My enterprising teens were stoked with these opportunities!

As time went by and their social media followings grew and grew and their creative juices began to flow, real, much larger opportunities presented themselves.

Humble beginnings for Jai where he learnt to navigate the world of entrepreneurialism from his shared bedroom. — Jai building his enterprise from his bedroom a few years ago.

Handing over the keys to his new warehouse where he creates media content for international clients.

Kaitlin, along with Tully her husband, have built multiple streams of income using social media. Businesses that include coaching, MLM, and online courses. We’ll share more about this in a later blog post.

It’s taken Jai a few years, but now he has a thriving business where he creates content for international clients for their social media marketing. He uses his social influence through Instagram, Tic Toc and Facebook to generate leads for his very successful enterprise.

Crypto

You would have all heard about Bitcoin, but I’d say not many of people fully understand what it actually is. In a nutshell, Bitcoin is a block chain digital software developed in 2008 to be a currency. It is limited in supply, therefore very rare like gold. Other than its rarity, people like it for many reasons:

Decentralised, thus not controlled by one bank (centralised).
Cheap and quick to buy, sell and send.
Easy to store and secure.
A hedge against other asset classes.
Block chain technology is at its infancy and likely to become huge.
It is borderless. Can be traded and used in all countries.
Used as a currency.

There are thousands of different crypto currencies, although Bitcoin is by far the largest by market cap. Many of the crypto coins are based on block chain digital technologies (programs) that have real life applications. They are part of real bricks and mortar businesses. For example, Power Ledger is a renewable energy technology allowing people who have solar panels on their homes to be able to sell their excess energy to other people for a premium, rather than selling back to the to the Energy company for very pittance. People can buy the Power Ledger Coin. If the company continues to grow and expand and make profits, it will push the value of the coin up.

Block chain technology (crypto) is very new, and people are only just beginning to realise its potential. The infrastructure to utilise the technology is still being put into place. As mainstream companies, banks, fund managers and investors see the real benefits of block chain technology and recognise crypto currencies as being a strong asset class, the value of these rare assets will continue to rise.

The Howitt’s have investigated several crypto coins and have bought into them, with the intention to hold them for the long term. We believe it is a strong hedge against other asset classes, such as the stock market. We also believe crypto to have tremendous potential.

eCommerce

As a family, we are all studying an eCommerce program called Web Dev. We are learning to build and monetise websites. We are also learning to identify value in websites for sale, buy them and then either renovate and flip them, or hold them for cash flow.

Websites can be monetised in many ways. The more common ways are through affiliating with companies selling real products and services (eg Amazon) or with advertising (AdSense). However; there are many other ways- like creating directory sites or selling digital products.

Building a website yourself from scratch costs very little, so anybody can afford to do so. Perfect for enterprising kids or teens. Buying readymade websites, already making a consistent monthly income can be an excellent investment, arguably better than any other asset class available today. For example, website that makes a $1000 a month can be bought for about $20 000. After costs, this asset will return in excess of 40% p/a. In addition, if you have the skills to improve the website and its income, then the asset will be worth more. Now, where else can you get a 40%+ return on an investment?

Currently, the younger Howitt kids are building websites. Amber has hers up and running. Go check it out www.sustainableperiodproducts.com. Chayse recently bought www.babyclient.com , which he is currently renovating. The other kids’ sites are a work in progress. We’ll keep you posted!

Our dinner table conversations may be a little different to the average family. We gain inspiration from one another through these conversations and through our mentors who support us on our entrepreneurial journeys. We are building skills, gaining knowledge, creating assets and most of all strengthening a mindset for enterprise.

Kids Biz Program- (by Amber)

November 26th, 2016

We are currently involved in a Kids Biz Program. The program educates younger people (and their parents) the traits of being a successful entrepreneur. We are taught the physical methods and the ways in which to train the mindset to be more successful and open to new ideas.

Flynn and I kerb painting

A wise man once said…

“The most successful people in life are the ones who ask questions. They’re always learning. They are always growing. They are always pushing” (Robert Kiyosaki).

This quote best sums up what my family and I have been doing these past few months.

Kids Biz Monthly Challenges

Every month, the program sets a challenge, which encourages us to take the skills we’ve learnt and apply them to real life situations. In August, our challenge was to take $20, and create a business that will earn us profit. To win the challenge we were to make the most money from our $20.

Our Money Making Idea

Naturally, my family was slow to get started and we kept circulating ideas but never taking action! Finally we had an idea that stuck, and from there it really just exploded! Our idea was to paint house numbers on kerbs, which would help visitors, family members and even emergency services to be able to find where people live easily.

Kit putting the final touches onto the kerb number

We did our fair share of research and planning, and then we took action. In 5 days we presold over 60 kerb paintings, giving us a profit of about $1000.

Amazingly, we won the challenge for the month! We spent September painting kerbs.

It has been an awesome experience so far (and I swear my artistic ability has improved).

I’m really excited to share with you our Kids Biz Program September challenge!! That I’ll tell you all about in my next post.

We invite you to like our new Enterpriseforkids Facebook page.

The Enterprise for Kids Team is Back!!

October 1st, 2016

Yes, the Enterprise for Kids Team is still here!

Hello Friends and Followers,

Would you believe it’s been nearly four years from our last post!!

Our “little” kids are not so little anymore. Kaitlin and Jai are 20 and 18 and have left school. Flynn and Amber are 16 and 14 and are studying at High School and our three babies- Kit, Chayse and Akaisha are 10, 8 and 5.

The Howitt Clan household is intact and would you believe… still on their Entrepreneurial journey!

There is so much to catch up on with our family’s activities. Too much for this blog post!

We will, over time, visit each of our children and look at what they have been doing and what they have learnt. We’ll look at their successes and we’ll share the tough lessons. We’re also super excited to share with you our latest enterprising projects!

So stay tuned for the next chapter in the Howitt Clan Entrepreneurial journey.

Check out little Amber from 5 years ago when she embarked on her Money Bunny Enterprising project!

A Kid’s Mindset For Success!! Teaching Kids to Be Successful: Part 4

July 29th, 2013

During my “career-path” conversation with my son Jai, he was able to visualize himself, his surroundings and companions in his adult future. A kid’s mindset for success! The final step was to solidify the pathway that would take him to his version of a successful life: A Plan, Natalie Cook’s fifth P.

Natalie Cook stood on a chair for this photo!

A Plan, Natalie Cook’s Fifth P

It’s always a good idea to sit down and plot out short term and long term goals, especially for entrepreneurial kids who are cultivating a kid’s mindset for success.

On an adult level, well-made plans should be a natural component of what you perceive is your life’s purpose, your “Why” in life. (Even kids that are entrepreneurial won’t have solidified their life purpose to this extent, however.)

Sean Rasmussen, our internet marketing mentor, taught me a trick that can be successful with kids, as well:

Write on small piece of paper an intention, but don’t use the future tense. For instance, you might write “I have attracted a healthy, motivated business person to my business this month,” instead of, “I will attract…” A child might write, “I have kicked two goals at this Saturday’s soccer match.”

Place the written intention under your pillow, in your wallet, or wherever you will view it regularly. The idea is to set a specific and realistic goal. The laws of the universe will then go into effect to bring your goal to fruition… that is, if you see it, believe it, and feel it.

People who practice this mindset for success technique go on to set bigger and grander intentions, over time.

Having a Defined Goal

My friend, Michael Clouse, says that not having a clearly defined plan is like an archer who aims at a target with a blindfold on. There’s no chance of hitting the bulls eye if you are unable to see it!

Vision Board Builds a Kid’s Mindset for Success

Another technique is visualizing goals using a vision board. Select the experiences and things that you would like to have in your life and make a poster board of these, using images and graphics. Place the vision board in a place that you will view daily. Visualize the items on the vision board and do so as if they were real and already present in your life.

Facing your fears! Walking on broken glass!

Positive Affirmations Leads to a Success Mindset in Kids

Speaking positive affirmations aloud two or three times a day is another way of setting your intention and belief. Again, these should be in the present tense.

Natalie Cook likes to declare her intentions and plans before a public audience, making herself accountable to a lot of people for achieving her aims.

So be bold! Change your way of thinking. Get rid of the negatives. Affirm the positives. Make sure that your plans are well-aligned with your life vision. Set grand goals, and follow your plan! This is a kid’s Mindset For Success!

Coming up in our Mindset for Success Series

Next up is the “P” I’ve added to Natalie’s other five. After reading this, can you guess what that might be? Leave your guess in the comments or on Facebook.

The winner will be announced in the next post (we have a small prize for them!!) Every success!

PS We are super excited! We’re heading overseas for an adventure of a lifetime! We will be meeting with and learning from some of the most successful people in the world and catching up with family (another blog post in the making!).

Our final Success P article in the series will have to wait until we get back. That may be three weeks time. Here is a sneak peek at where we are going and what we will be doing…

Teaching Enterprising Teens How to Achieve Success (Part 2)

June 4th, 2013

After my son Jai and I discussed the first of Natalie Cook’s Five P’s, Purpose , in choosing a career path (in Part 1 of this series), I asked him to make a timeline of his life. He was to focus on his surroundings, and more importantly, on the people who would be with him.

People

You see, Natalie’s second P is People. Attracting the right people in life is key to building a successful kid entrepreneur. But whether Jai chose to be an enterprising teen or not, it was his mindset for success in whatever path he chose that was most important to me.

So, I asked him where he would like to be sitting five years from now and with whom? Ten years from now? Forty? I had him picture what was around him, his associates, and what made these kids so valuable to him right now that their presence remained visible decades into the future.

Natalie Cook discussed the value of surrounding herself with the right people, while training to be an Olympic Gold medalist. Around her were coaches, mindset mentors, professionals, and peers whose encouragement always lifted her up, instead of bearing criticism that tears a person down.

Jai contemplating the people he would like to surround himself with. People with Passion that will assist him with his enterprising teen journey.

At the same time, it is important, especially for enterprising teens, to hang out with the sort of people they want to emulate. Qantum physics and studies in neuroscience have discovered that there are mirror neurons in the brain that mirror or copy the brains around them. That is, a person becomes like his/her closest friends. This is besides peer pressure! They should be encouraged to make conscious choices of mates who will add to their mindset for success.

As adults, what I love about the new business that Cathy and I have become involved in, Isagenix, is that it is all about people. Natalie Cook understands this, too, as she is a partner in the same company. In fact, it really doesn’t matter what is your business or your kids’ enterprise for one reason: When being helpful to other people, your success increases. This is because helping people gives enterprising teens and adults an energy that attracts the right people into your lives, and who, in turn, help you.

Passion

People are also attracted to those who have a passion for what they do. Passion is Natalie’s third P. Natalie said in a Sparkmag interview that passion is

“required when times are tough. If you are not passionate about what you do and you don’t love the process and the product… it makes is much easier not to feel as emotionally involved, or eventually shut up shop and walk away.”

Now, Jai rightfully wanted something he could stick with for the long term. Having him visualize himself, his surroundings, and companions way into the future really took him to a place that I could see was his passion, something apart from what others were expecting of him, a desire that would not fade with time. His spirit guided him, instead of the social conditioning of his school, friends, and family.

Want to know more? The next P is inseparable from Passion, and that’s Perseverance. See you next week (Check out the very funny video of Natalie Cook giving our kids a message!)

If you enjoyed this article, then you may find this one just as interesting “How Do Entrepreneurs Think?”

If you could enlist three people in the world to personally be your friend and mentor you, who would they be? Mine would be Richard Branson, Robert Kiyosaki and Michael Clouse. Make sure you leave us a comment…

Burekup Country Club Heats up! … a Lesson in Marketing!

January 23rd, 2013

Last week there was fear and excitement in the small township of Burekup! The Burekup Country Club was on FIRE!!… and the Burekup Australia Day Fair may be cancelled!

Once a year for “Australia Day” Burekup hosts a fun family fare. Everyone in town usually comes along, together with people from the surrounding areas.

Burekup Country Club Hall.

This year it has had a little more publicity than normal. The local Burekup Country Club, who are the organisers of the event, had a fire that threatened to burn down the old wooden club house and town hall.

Thankfully the fire crew were able to put it out before it caused too much damage or anyone was hurt!

The newspaper heard about the near disaster and ran a story in the local rag on the fire that almost sabotaged the Burekup Australia Day Fair! The story stimulated fear and interest, which in turn was excellent publicity for the Burekup Fair!

Marketing a product, service or brand can be very challenging, especially if you are not savvy with marketing (like me!). Having very good marketing will sell even a poor product, yet having a very good product won’t sell easily unless you have it well marketed.

Our enterprising kids have all been challenged with marketing their products and brands. Cathy and I have also been challenged with marketing when promoting events or selling our products.

Only last weekend during our Money Mastery Program, our mentor Paul Counsel, shared some excellent insights into how the human brain works and how to target marketing. Some of his suggestions are outlined a little later in this article.

But firstly I’ll share with you the lead up to the Burekup Australia Day Fair and how our family have been crazily preparing for it. We see it as a terrific opportunity to market our brand, as well as the products and services that we have for offer.

Flynn showing his honey pots.

All bottled awaiting labels!

The Howitt Family booked two stalls. One for all our enterprising kids to display and sell their products, and one for ourselves to provide people information about the awesome benefits of nutritional cleansing using the Isagenix system (our home business). Promoting our Enterprise For Kids brand and our Enterprise for Kids blog is also one of our aims!

Kit and Chayse sorting lollies.

Lolly bags all set to be sold!

Putting ourselves “out there” in our small community for the first time is a little confronting. Some people know what we’ve been up to, but for many it will be a surprise. Despite the challenge, we do see this as a chance to practice in readiness for bigger and better things to come!

So what products and services will our kids be promoting and selling?

Kit and Chayse will be running their Lolly Bag business. They have bought, sorted and bagged lollies to sell. Chayse also has a small fish tank to sell. He has bred colourful guppies which he will sell with the tank.

Amber watering her succulents ready to be sold.

Amber showing her product.

Amber has been busy all year collecting succulents (cacti like plants) from people’s gardens. She has artistically potted these up into all kinds of unusual pots such as large sea shells, kettles and ceramic plant pots.

She and Flynn also plan to sell aquarium fish that they have bred. They have salvaged and cleaned large glass wine flagons which make terrific fish bowls. They will market their brand “Fish in a Bottle”.

Fish in a Bottle.

Can you see the fish?

Amber will also sell selected items from her “New from Old” business and she is putting together a Lucky Dip!

Flynn will be selling raw unprocessed honey. His brand is “Howitt’s Honey” and he has a brand new fresh batch to sell! Flynn also bought an excellent set of golf clubs for a very good price, which he intends to sell at the fair.

Jai showing his Icey poles.

Jai will be promoting his “Hire a Teenager” service. He already has clients in Burekup who hire him to do work on their properties such as mowing and window cleaning. Jai has also prepared a batch of frozen juice ice-cups on a stick. He has come up with some creative ideas to add value to his product. Jai is also considering promoting “Rent Exercise Equipment”. This business idea is in its infancy and may not quite be ready to run.

Kaitlin's Eye heART.

Lastly Kaitlin (Akaisha is a little young to have an enterprise!) will be promoting her new brand “Eye heART”. Being the creative one in the family, she will sell her skills by painting the eye of clients from a photograph. Around the eye she will also paint three things dear to them.

This opportunity for us all to market our brands, services and products will help the Howitt Clan develop self efficacy around being entrepreneurial.

So what does our mentor, Paul Counsel, have to say about marketing?

Well he has a lot more to say than the few little suggestions I have outlined below!

Firstly, you need to show your prospective customer how he/she will go from “Pain Island” to “Pleasure Island” if they buy your product or service. That is, you need to stimulate pain and promise pleasure. The best way to do this is with a before and after picture that is in black and white contrast. For example showing a before and after photo of someone using a product for weight-loss, or a before and after picture of someone receiving treatment for hair loss.

Just need the right ship to get them there!

Paul explains that a woman’s brain differs from a man’s brain and what stimulates pain for a man is different to that for a woman. The pre cognitive driver for women is “fear of abandonment” whilst the pre-cognitive driver for men is “fear of servitude” (that is being lower on the totem pole where women won’t choose them).

95% of decisions are made pre-cognitively using the Primal Brain. As a marketer you need to stimulate it into paying attention and speak to it in its own language. Some other ways to stimulate the Primal Brain are…

Targeting the emotions of fear, pleasure and pain and then offer a solution that is real and tangible. Or offer a visual novelty such as Kaitlin’s “Eye heART”, Jai’s fancy icy-poles or Flynn and Amber’s “Fish in a Bottle”.

Now there is so much more that could be said about marketing. Paul will be running a weekend marketing course in Perth on the 23rd and 24th of February if you are interested in really delving into the world of marketing. What he teaches will certainly benefit anyone with something to market..

Luckily the Fire didn’t burn down the Club and spoil the Burekup Australia Day Fair. But boy was it an excellent way to wake up the Primal Brain by stimulating it with the pain of the fare being cancelled due to fire. This excellent marketing has created plenty of publicity for the event!

In our next blog we will likely have some photos and share our Burekup Australia Day Fair experiences. Hope to see some of you there!

We would love to hear from our readers, so please share your thoughts in the comment box below and if you like our Enterprise For Kids blog we would love for you to pass it around to your friends.

A Business Success Formula That You Can Teach Your Kids!

November 30th, 2012

In our previous post we shared Sean Rasmussen’s teachings around developing a healthy self image. This article follows on from that discussion as we share more of his valuable teachings around being successful in business.

How would you like to know Sean Rasmussen’s Business Success Formula?

Teaching these understandings to your children will set them on the path to being successful entrepreneurs.

Sean introduced a simple formula that will get results in business. The formula is…

(Training + Tools + Team) X Time = Results.

This formula can fit all business models, whether it be Network Marketing, conventional business or an Internet Based Businesses. This fits with what we have read about Robert Kiyosaki and his Business Builder model (as opposed to small business). He describes building a business system that will grow itself. Sean’s formula formed the bases of the whole Boot Camp of which we were taught how to address each aspect through Internet Marketing.

In our recent blog about David Wood we discovered that he also uses this formula for business success and he taught us how to apply it to Network Marketing.

Training: Attend the boot camps, join a program, find a mentor and study the business system.

Tools: Use the tools provided by the business system. Use the tools that work, don’t be a tool trying to work it all out for yourself! Or as David Wood says, “Use the tools, don’t be a tool!”

Team: Build a team of experts around you who build your business. In internet marketing it may be virtual assistants, ghost writers and marketers whom you can contract very inexpensively from counties such as the Philippines or India. With Network Marketing it will be the people in your upline as well as those in your own network that form your team. You help them build their business and yours will naturally become successful as well.

Time: Give it your all! Without putting time into your business initially it simply won’t be successful. With businesses that grow and generate a passive income the amount of time you need to commit it great to begin with and the income is small, but as your business grows your work time will diminish, but your income will continue to grow!

Results: Your income generated from your business.

Teaching Kids the Business Success Formula

Flynn extracting the honey from the honey cone.

The Business Success Formula can easily be taught to kids. Firstly help them get started with an enterprise. This way they will learn all about it. For example my son Flynn has learnt a huge amount about bee keeping, harvesting and processing honey and then marketing it.

Next teach them how they can make their business easier by utilizing the right tools. In Flynn’s case it was about borrowing the right extractor equipment and using an expert’s advice (his Grandad) which saves him time.

Then investigate ways of putting a team together to make the process less work and more profitable. Flynn utilized his friends to help bottle the honey, he had people selling his honey on consignment and he found people to take his honey to the market. He wasn’t doing all the work!

Flynn with his product

Explain to your kids about delayed gratification. That is: put the hard yards in now for a financial reward later. Once they see a result in their wallets/purses then they will fully grasp Sean’s formula for business success. Flynn has realised this. He used all his own money to buy his honey and he also paid for everything he required to bottle and market it He understood that he needed to make his business work in order to get his money back with profit. Once he experienced a result with his first batch of honey, he became much more focused and determined with his second batch, which by the way he invested twice the capital!

Three Reasons Why People Are Not Making Money Right Now!

Sean Rasmussen also pointed out three reasons why people are not making money right now. He emphasises the importance of “Action, Intention and Value”. When people use the Business Success Formula, and also attend to and are clear on these three things, they are perfectly set up to make money in their chosen enterprise.

Action

Action is obvious. Take action straight away whenever an idea or opportunity presents. As soon as an idea presents itself, build upon it. Avoid killing the idea with all the “what ifs”.

Intention

To illustrate the point about Intention, Sean had us all write onto a small card what our intent was for the three days at the boot camp, and then we put the card in our pocket to be carried around where ever we went. The idea is… we thought about and put out to the universe our intent without trying to force an answer or outcome. Amazingly, by the end of the three days the answers to our intention were answered! Intention can also be aligned with having a plan.

Value

He refers to Value as being your highest values. Sean Rasmussen explains that your highest values dictate what you focus on. So it is crucial to ensure that what you want, whether it be health, money, family or whatever, is high up on your value list, otherwise it simply won’t happen.

Our Money Mastery mentor, Paul Counsel, also enlightened us to this very important distinction. For us we struggled with putting business ahead of family as our highest value. Our kids have always been our highest value and consequently take up all our time and energy. So what we learnt was that we needed to align business with our highest value of family. Hence we have done that with this very blog and with other enterprise we are pursuing. By aligning our highest value with business, we then have better focus and desire, and our enterprise is moving forward and so are our entrepreneurial mindsets.

So there you have it… Sean Rasmussen’s Business Success Formula.

Flynn celebrating his business success!

In our next blog we will talk more about the wonderful personalities we met whilst on Bootcamp and the sorts of things they are doing to inspire others.about the tremendous opportunity for our kids (and us grown ups!) with building a membership site on the internet. The figures possible…. are mind-blowing!

Kit and Chayse and a Lesson on Self Efficacy!

November 1st, 2012

Kit has decided to form a partnership with Chayse with his Lolly Bag Enterprise for Kids Business! He figured that his Dog Walking business was moving too slowly, and he saw how easily Chayse was making an excellent profit. So they joined forces and together visited the local supermarket to spend their capital on buying large bags of confectionary. This time they were very serious and bought $230 worth of lollies!

The Production Line

Once again the family pitched in around the dining table to sort and bag all the lollies. Before long Kit and Chayse, in partnership, were ready to go out to the sporting grounds and sell their product. Click here to view a video of Kit and Chayse’s production line!

This time round was a little different though! Our kids had been taught and now understood the value of gifting (An Entrepreneur’s Conscience). Taking a small portion of their profits and giving it towards a worthy cause, teaches the kids about generosity and about appreciating their own good fortune. We also believe that by giving, the universe in turn will give back in some way or form. Flynn, for example, is putting money to one side to give to our African sponsor child Cheroko. Amber has chosen to give to the Cerebral Palsy Association because she has a school friend with this disability. Kit and Chayse have chosen The Flying Doctor Service as their charity because the Flying Doctor really helped us out when Kaitlin was born in a very remote Kimberley town. (Kalumburu).

Designing the For Sale Sign with RFDS as the beneficiary....

All the soccer lads checking out their lollies.

Watching Jai in action at the soccer fields!.........

.....whilst the boys sold their wares

So armed with renewed confidence, the two boys did the rounds of the sporting grounds and sold box after box of lollies. They were magnetic – attracting people from all over the place. Just like the Mr Whippy Van!

The boys were very good at counting money and giving the correct change. They did at first need prompting to approach groups, and to say thank you. However, after a while their confidence grew and they happily spoke with customers. There were lots of questions about what they were doing and why they were selling lollies. Kit and Chayse would tell people that it was their business and that they were also giving a little money towards the Flying Doctor’s Service. People were all very happy to support their business and some even bought lollies just to have a chat with them!

On a later trip to the sporting fields I was super surprised to find that young Chayse had taken it upon himself to gather up his heavy box of lollies and head off down the lines of spectators. I had no idea that he had gone as I had been focused on watching Flynn playing his soccer game. I was suddenly alarmed to notice that the lolly box had gone from under my feet and that Chayse was no where to be seen! Looking around I could see some commotion about fifty metres away. It was Chayse with a crowd of people buying his lollies.

I was very proud of the little “fella” as he had proven that he was developing his self efficacy with being an entrepreneur. Through many weeks of shyly putting himself out there with his customers selling lollies, he had finally built the confidence to go it alone!

If he keeps this up he will be an awesome young entrepreneur when he grows up!

Cathy and I have been learning the importance of self efficacy at our Money Mastery Course from our mentor Paul Counsel. He explains that it is very difficult to just switch and be an entrepreneur. What we need to do is to build up to being one by pushing our upper limit continuously. That is done by doing things that take us out of our comfort zone. Take on new challenges and then celebrate the success, then repeat it over and over again. Eventually you become comfortable with being uncomfortable, which in turn open up new possibilities and attracts opportunities. This is exactly what has been happening with our four year old son Chayse… in fact it has been happening to all of us!

Kit also demonstrated his growing confidence only a few days ago. He said that he wanted to take his Enterprise for Kids lolly business down to the local skate park all by himself. We agreed to his request and let him go. His big brother Flynn was instructed to follow behind at a distance to make sure he was OK.

Self Efficacy!

Well Kit sold a bunch of lolly bags and on returning he announced, “A Granny gave me a big cuddle and kiss!” Not sure what he was going on about we asked him to explain. Kit said, “She was really happy to see me doing my business. She bought some lollies and then gave me a cuddle.”

Two young Entrepreneurs....

....share their rewards.....

......with the RFDS.

You can donate directly to: www.flyingdoctor.net

We believe that our enterprising children are experiencing mindset shifts to think more and more like entrepreneurs. It will be interesting to see how this changing mind set effects the way they approach their enterprise for kids ventures. It all takes a lot of practice and confidence. In later blogs we will talk more about self efficacy and how our other children are moving along with it and we we also share our own enterprising endeavours!

Plan to Buy Gold and Silver!

October 11th, 2012

“Failing to plan is planning to fail!” Robert Kiyosaki

Most people have a plan on how to make their money, but they do not have a plan on what to do with their money when they make it. Kiyosaki points out that often these are the same people who will have a problem with not having enough money.

He also explains that if you have a good plan before you earn it, then your problem will be having too much money! …Now I like that problem!

Kids need an education on how to plan what to do with their money when they earn it.

Kiyosaki goes on to say,

“Poor people don’t have a plan. All they do is earn more money and spend it on bigger liabilities that take more money from their pockets and then they have to earn even more money. Therefore, despite what they earn, they are always short of money.”

The solution is to plan to spend earned money on Assets (things that appreciate over time) to make passive income. Don’t buy liabilities (things that depreciate and lose money over time) with earned income. Then use some of your passive income from the assets you own to buy the liabilities you want.

Our own kids are all busy planning their enterprises and are successfully making themselves money. They have plans to buy liabilities such as nerf guns, Ipods, computers and so forth, but no plan to buy assets. So I thought it was time to have a conversation with my kids about having a plan to buy assets.

We wrote an article about our conversations with the kids about Assets and Liabilities. Here is a link to that article.

Once “Assets” as opposed to “Liabilities” was explained to the kids they were then able to make a plan to buy assets. In the above mentioned article I gave several suggestions of Assets that kids could buy. I would like to elaborate further on why Gold and Silver is an excellent asset that our kids could buy with their earned money.

Gold Coin from Lydia

Subscribers to this blog would have seen the promotion of a Gold and Silver Seminar that we hosted here in Bunbury a few weeks back. Our presenter, Andrew Smith, a mining engineer, investor and businessman, has been intimately involved with the world of Gold and Silver mining for many years. He gave many excellent reasons why Gold and Silver is well worth considering as a long term asset investment. I’ll now explain some of those reasons.

Gold and Silver is recognised world wide as money and can be used to buy products and services just as fiat currencies can. The first gold coin was around in 600BC in Lydia, Asia. The difference being, currencies devalue whilst gold and silver hold their value.

Andrew invented the “Meat Pie Indicator” to show why this is!

Aussie Gold 2012 Coin

Let’s see if you can get your head around this explanation of how the Meat Pie Indicator works!!

Back in 1970 you could buy a meat pie for 40c and today the same pie would cost you $4.50. Andrew explains that this indicator shows the Aussie dollar devaluing 350% over a period of 42 years (ie you need 350% more cash to buy the same pie).

What is interesting, is that if you had bought the meat pie with 40c worth of silver back in 1970 when silver was less than $2 an ounce, you would have needed one fifth of an ounce. Yet if you bought the same meat pie today using silver (at $35 an ounce) you would only require about one eighth of an ounce of silver. Silver has increased in value by more than 400% during the same period!
This is a terrific example of the Dollar devaluing due to inflation, whilst Silver (& Gold) gains in value! And no it isn’t just the Aussie Dollar that has devalued! All world currencies have! What’s worse, is that hyperinflation in certain countries have caused their currency to become absolutely worthless. Take Zimbabwe for example. Interestingly though, the people of Zimbabwe are now using gold to buy and sell goods.

If you are interested in understanding more about Hyperinflation and how it could even happen to us down under, then have a look at these videos…
Hyperinflation Nation Part 1

Hyperinflation Nation Part 2

Hyperinflation Nation Part 3

“Inflation is as violent as a mugger, as frightening as an armed robber and as deadly as a hit man” Ronald Reagan 1980

As you can see, having precious metals is a hedge against inflation and devaluing currencies. Although this in its self is a very good reason to own gold and silver, there are also many more reasons.

Reserve Banks around the world are injecting more and more money into their economies. This money is being created out of thin air! Every time this occurs it dilutes the money supply and makes it more expensive to buy goods and services. It creates inflation, which in turn reduces the buying power of the dollar. What also happens is that more money is needed to buy gold and silver!

It is estimated that there is 80,000 tons of gold in the ground (in the World) and we currently mine 2500 tons a year. At the current rate of mining there is less than 30 years of gold left in the ground. Silver is running out even faster with only 20 years of silver mining remaining. I guess you can see that with gold and silver running out and the ever growing world requiring more and more of it, then you would expect their values to increase.

Indian Bridal Jewellery

What’s more, the Indians and Chinese love buying gold and silver, and as they become wealthier, so will their thirst for these metals. There are 2.6 billion Chinese and Indians. Much of the gold is bought as jewellery during the Hindu wedding season and during the Chinese New Year celebrations. It is estimated that there is 18,000 tons of gold jewellery present in India alone today. That is a huge amount considering that 165,000 tons have been mined world wide to date!

The commercial demand for silver in manufacturing products such as mobile phones, solar panels and mirrors means that the silver used with producing such products is not stored, but used up. This demand has been increasing year by year.

Since 2001 the USD gold price has increased by 500%.

Gold from $300/ounce in 2001 to $1750 today

Silver from $4 an ounce in 2001 to $34 today

As you can see fundamentally owning gold and silver for the longer term looks to be very promising. So why not introduce your kids to buying this asset class with some of their earned money, or rather than giving them cash for birthday presents, give them silver!

Perth Mint

It is very easy to do. The Perth Mint buys and sells gold, silver and platinum. All you need to do is walk in and buy it. Gold at $1750/ounce may be out of their league, but silver at $34/ounce is manageable. They can buy coins or bullion. Bullion will be better value for money, as coins are looked upon as collectables and have an additional cost for minting which greatly inflates the cost to buy the silver.

Our kids now have new goals. There goals are broken up into three parts and they have a plan for each. A part for buying liabilities, a part for buying assets and a part for tithing!

This website is worth a look at if you are keen to further your education on Gold and Silver.

$20 Piggy Bank! Click Picture

Cathy and I and a group of our friends are very excited to be heading up to Perth to learn from another Great Master. His name is David Wood and his event will be awesome! So I guess our next blog article will be about what we learn from him!

Ways Children Can Make Money! Amber’s Enterprise Continued…

September 20th, 2012

There are hundreds of ways children can make money! Yet when chatting to parents they often tell me that they would really like their kids to have a little business enterprise of their own, but they just can’t think of a good idea.

Well here’s the tip… think what the problems or needs that your local community has and maybe a kids’ enterprise could be built around it. Another angle to come from is to consider what skill your child might have that they could put to good use and build an enterprise around that.

Brainstorm ideas by jotting them down on paper. Keep going until you have exhausted all possible ideas whether or not you intend to use them or not. Try asking the neighbours what issues and problems that they have and add these to your list.

Generally people have ‘time’ issues and that is where a business can be started from. Not enough time to mow the lawn, clean the large rubbish bins, chop the wood, tend to the kids’ homework, clean the windows, rake the leaves, tutor the kids, pull the weeds, clean the car… you get the picture!

If you are still stumped for ways children can make money, then check back through this blog as it’s full of ideas.

Amber’s “New From Old” enterprise has been going great guns right from the beginning. Her money jars are filling up, and really she hasn’t had to do much work at all! She reached her goal that she set a while back and she is now preparing to take her business to another level (we’ll talk more about that in a later blog).

If you are new to our blog and haven’t yet had the chance to follow what Amber’s Enterprise entails, then click the link on the left side bar that says “Enterprising Howitt Family”. Here you will be able to read about all the Howitt Kids and their entrepreneurial journeys.

Toddler ride-on toys

Amber will make the fortnightly trip to the local Recycling and Waste Recovery Centre. It sells anything salvageable. The guy who runs the place now knows Amber and understands that she is running her own business. Amber has developed important skills of negotiating and connecting with a network. When she identifies an opportunity she will confidently strike up a deal with the Recycle Man.

Much of the stuff for sale is really not worth the effort to resell and profit from. It is like looking for a gold nugget in amongst the boulders. Amber’s ability to pick profitable items has improved over the months and she now has an eye for a bargain.

Pet Cage

The items that can be resold are the ones that generally solve people’s problems (eg pet cages, baby toys, storage and exercise). These items need to be well presented and in good condition. So Amber looks for opportunities that don’t require spending lots of time and money fixing them up. Ideally she buys things that just need a good clean, a lick of paint or a new set of batteries. She has learnt from her mistakes to check the items properly before buying them. She did buy a perfect condition four man tent still in its new box for $10, only to find out later that it had no pegs or poles. To buy pegs and poles new would blow her costs out and she would run at a loss. So it was put down to a learning experience. Does anyone have free pegs and poles??)

Fish aquarium

Sometimes Amber will see a possible opportunity, but holds off buying it until she has done her research. She will work out what it will cost to repair or tidy it up (paint brushes, varnish, batteries, sand paper, labour, etc) and then she will look at what others are selling it for on Gumtree (Classifieds online). By doing her research, she then has an idea of how much she can pay for it in order to make a reasonable profit.

Amber sells almost all her items on Buy and Sell Bunbury Face Book. She set up her own Face Book page for the sole purpose to be able to participate in the buy and sell market. She writes her own ads, uploads her own pictures and converses with customers online and on the telephone. When a buyer arrives she will present her goods to them and collect payment.

Amber placing her adverts onto Buy & Sell Facebook with the gang watching on!

We’ve watched Amber continuously grow in confidence with her enterprise. She understands the many different ways children can make money and has found and built her own business around solving problems and using her skills of creativity and communicating with people.

Some of the items that Amber acquired and on-sold for profit can be seen in the pictures on this blog.

The five outdoor toddler toys were bought for a good price. She scrubbed them, put new batteries in one, charged the battery in another and sold them all for $60.

The aquarium and pet cages just needed a clean and she made a profit of $25.

Display shelves

Her corner display required screwing together and she made a profit of $20.

Her current project is a very large timber outdoor table. She paid $10 and hopes to sell that for a profit as well after sanding it back and varnishing it.

Amber has also been collecting succulent plants from friends. Her plan is to paint decorative ceramic pots and plant hardy succulents in them, then sell them at a market day.

Here is a video clip of Amber reflecting on her business and goals from several weeks ago. She talks about how her business is progressing, what she needs to do to attain her goal, buying assets and gifting money. Make sure you take a look by clicking here!

It will be very interesting to see where her entrepreneurial journey takes her as she grows older. She loves writing, so maybe she will write a book about her journey!

Amber making a sale!

Hopefully in this blog we have helped show some ways children can make money through enterprise. If you have any good ideas or tips for our subscribers, please leave a comment below.

In our next article we will talk about kids buying Gold!