Enterprising Howitt Family

The Howitt family is on a Journey to become entrepreneurs. Each of us are learning how to come up with ideas and then run enterprises. From there we hope to develop our knowledge, understandings, skills and most importantly mindset of an entrepreneur. Here we will follow our journey including all the ups and downs.

Enterprising Kids Succeed at the Burekup Fair!

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The day started with a mad rush!

 

 

Seven enterprising kids needed to be ready and set up down at the Burekup Country Club grounds by 8.30am. It required four trips with a trailer carrying tables, pram, signs, eskies, TV, banners and all the products that we planned on selling.

Amber and her succulents.
… and making a sale.

On arriving we discovered that someone else had set up in our designated spot. We milled around waiting until the problem was sorted and then once a new space was allocated we busied ourselves with setting up. A very strong easterly wind challenged us with erecting banners and keeping the table clothes on the tables. It obviously was going to be a hot day. Thankfully the Red Gum Trees overhead would keep us in shade all day.

Bargain hunters were quick to do the rounds of the stalls… well before we were ready! Trying to set things up, they would be there asking questions and making purchases (we’ll have to be better prepared for this next time round!)

All set ready for the customers!

The kids’ anticipation and the joyful growing crowd created an air of excitement. It was a real country fair without all the commercial jazz that you see at many fairs today.

Firstly visitors and locals joined in with the Australia Day BBQ breakfast. Following the brekky the crowd moved onto all the stalls and activities. There were old machinery displays, free bouncy castle and water slide, a dunk tank, fairy floss, pat the animals, thong throwing contests (flip flops for all you USA readers!), face painting, as well as people selling their wares from home made fudge, plants and toys to live pigs, chickens and crafts. Other enterprising kids were also selling their toys, bikes, clothes and things that they had made.

Amber and Flynn with their “Fish in a Bottle”
Products waiting to be sold.

Having a novelty product is the key to drawing interest… and we had the perfect product that really did create a lot of interest! Flynn and Amber’s “Fish in a Bottle” were an absolute hit! Kids came from everywhere dragging their parents to look at the fish. Once at our stall we were able to market our other items to them.

Chayse soon got the hang of it. Whenever a customer wandered past he would hold up a lolly bag and ask people if they would like to buy one. Many people would buy lollies from him simply because he had asked (how can you refuse a little five year old eh!). There was another little boy walking around selling his Mum’s home made fudge. He too wasn’t shy in coming forward asking customers if they would like to make a purchase. Talking to his Dad later in the day, he said that his son had sold more fudge walking around than they did at their stall! I guess there is a lesson in that!

Kaitlin’s EYE heART on display.
…customers admiring her work!

It wasn’t long before we had customers coming in their droves. Talking with customers, handling money and recording on a pad what was sold, all kept the kids on their toes!

Taking it in turns to man the stall allowed each of us time to catch up with friends and also spend some of the takings at the fair.

Our enterprising kids were very happy with their result! Each was able to sell their products and make a profit. Flynn’s “Howitt Honey” was very popular and sold very well. Kit and Chayse sold about half their lolly bags and due to the hot day, Jai’s Icy-poles also sold well. Jai made a profitable sale with his exercise equipment, Amber sold some succulents, Kaitlin received some commissions for her “Eye heART”… and of course the “Fish in a Bottle” sold well!

Jai manning the stall with his exercise equipment.
Flynn selling his unpasteurized honey.

Cath and I also had a terrific result! There was lots of interest in Isagenix with a number of people requesting a follow-up to learn more about how Isagenix can help them. This was the first time we had put ourselves out there with our new business and running an Isagenix stall allowed us to develop our own self efficacy, as well as build our Isagenix profile in this community. We spoke with many very interesting people and learned a lot about their lives and interests.

By the end of the day we were exhausted!

Akaisha enjoying one of Jai’s Icy-poles (mittens to stop her hands from getting cold!).
Cathy explaining the health benefits of Isagenix.

It was important to celebrate our success as this is vital in fostering self efficacy around being entrepreneurial kids. The kids counted the takings and divided it up. They then paid any debts to realize their profits. Each received a congratulations and a hug for being successful enterprising kids!

Many great lessons around getting a “Financial Education” were learnt on this day. It is our hope that our kids continue to develop their self efficacy around being entrepreneurial, as we believe this will give them greater opportunities when they become adults.

Cathy talking with an interested customer.
Kit and Chayse selling lolly bags>

Finally we would like to thank the Burekup Country Club, and in particular Sally and Jason Barnden and their team, for co-ordinating the fair.

Our next blog will be a lesson in Money Mastery as we review our year with mentor/teacher Paul Counsel. Once again we appreciate subscribers encouragements, views and comments.

Chayse selling lolly bags to a customer.

Just as an added note… the day after the fair five more “Fish in a Bottle” sold!!


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

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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.

 


Kit and Chayse and a Lesson on Self Efficacy!

Enterprise For KidsTeam A Financial Education for Kids, Becoming an Entrepreneur, Enterprising Howitt Family, Enterprising Kids , , , , , , , , , , , 5 Comments


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!

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

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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!


Youth Enterprise…. Kaitlin and Jai

Cathy and Trevor A Financial Education for Kids, Enterprising Howitt Family, Enterprising Kids , , , , , , , 0 Comment

So far we have seen Flynn building a great Honey enterprise and actually achieve his goal. Kit had a go at “dog walking”, but quickly cottoned onto the fact that Chayse was making more money than him selling lollies or candy at the local Soccer fields, so has been pursuing that with his brother. They have made quite a team, and we will revisit them in an upcoming blog post. Amber has actually reached her goal with her “New from Old” endeavours and we will celebrate her achievement in another post also.

So that leaves our creative Artist, Kaitlin, and our budding App Developer Jai.

It has been interesting to note on the kids’ journeys, that it is actually easier to introduce a different mindset around money to children who are younger than it is to teenagers or older children. Why would teaching youth enterprise be so challenging? Well, the answer is simple really. In our case, Kaitlin and Jai have been a lot more conditioned around money than the younger siblings. They have been around longer with us as their major source of education. Our thoughts/objections/subconscious beliefs have been ingrained into these two and it is now quite a process to change those beliefs.

Kaitlin and Jai

Luckily for us, Kaitlin and Jai are both quick learners and understand the concepts we have been trying to teach. The main obstacle has been providing the “time” to put this newfound knowledge into action. Being teenagers, their lives are full of homework/study, sporting commitments, social life and social media. All of these are things we want to encourage in our children, so our challenge has been finding the time to also include a Financial Education.

But in the end, as with everything, “life” has been the best teacher of all.

Jai hasn’t had an urgency to pursue his App Developing as there was no time line on when his goal needed to be reached. But since then, his goal has changed. Jai has been accepted into the Country Week Soccer team and will be competing in Perth during the holidays. He has to pay for a good portion of this trip. He suddenly has a renewed vision and goal to aim for, and he has spent countless hours researching a variety of ways to make the money in a short amount of time, kicking his youth enterprise into action!

Jai's focus or goal has changed.....
Jai loves being active and he now has a new goal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He has come up with different ways to make the money, some of them he wasn’t interested in before. The sorts of opportunities Jai has been looking at are mowing lawns in our neighborhood, finding items to sell and hiring out exercise equipment. Together, he and Trevor worked out he needed to find $10 a day to be able to afford his portion. He has been negotiating with us over particular jobs that need doing around the house (above and beyond household chores) and been getting on and doing them. He has gone through many of his good quality items that were a “must have” when he bought them, then realised that perhaps he didn’t need them as much as he first thought. These, he has posted on Facebook to sell.

So, whilst Jai’s App developing has taken a backseat, it hasn’t been forgotten, it is just something he has recognised as a longer term project and pursuing it now wouldn’t give him the instant money needed to go on this trip. We are proud of his efforts and are sure he will reach his goal in time.

Jai reflected on his Entrepreneurial Journey a few weeks back. Click here to view!

Kaitlin doing what she loves!

Kaitlin, our artist in residence, is finally learning to manage her energy around study, social life, sport and her youth enterprise ventures. She has put a time line in place and is having more requests for art, so has to now take the time to start each piece so it can be finished in time for Christmas (for some) and earlier for others. Having a boyfriend has actually increased her self effacy as she needs to complete certain things before socialising.

Kaitlin and Lachlan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luckily, lachlan encourages Kaitlin to do that, because he actually wants to have a social life too!

Kaitlin and her friend Georgia are also realising the power of leveraging their time. They have come up with some great ideas around Enterprise and have put steps in place to pursue these ideas. They are longer term goals, but in the end will reap more rewards than working a job. However, they still see the need to pursue their “job” in the meantime, to give them the money to put towards their enterprise when it is up and running. We will keep you posted with their endeavours.

Kaitlin & Georgia

So the journey towards Financial freedom is always a rocky one,  but one worth following regardless of what else is going on in your life. Our kids are teaching us so much along the way, and whilst all of their efforts aren’t successful, they are learning from that and moving forward……..and we couldn’t be prouder.


Children Earning Pocket Money… the Candy Man!

Enterprise For KidsTeam A Financial Education for Kids, Becoming an Entrepreneur, Enterprising Howitt Family, Enterprising Kids , , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

We thought it was time that we revisited our little Candy Man Chayse! When we last followed his enterprising adventure he had bought his lollies and bagged them up ready to sell.

If you missed that article, then click here.

Now he has to find a market for his product and learn to be a salesman. Before we share Chayse’s exciting adventure we thought that it would be interesting to consider the benefits of children earning pocket money through enterprise as opposed to children receiving a weekly allowance.

Children earning pocket money through enterprise will develop the mindset and skills of an entrepreneur! Giving children a weekly allowance conditions them to be “workers”. Robert Kiyosaki describes a worker as someone prepared to give their time for money, whilst an entrepreneur builds systems and businesses that produce a cash flow. Workers are more often than not time poor and cash poor, whilst entrepreneurs are generally time rich and cash rich.

Why is it then that the vast majority of us leave school and become workers?

A child receiving a weekly pocket money allowance is equivalent to a worker receiving a weekly salary. Relying upon a weekly allowance won’t encourage children to look for opportunities for enterprise. Their pocket money may or may not be aligned with doing household chores, just as a worker receives payment for doing work. Many kids leave school and slot into jobs for the rest of their lives because they have not been able to explore the entrepreneur within themselves!

Chayse with his box of candy!

Children earning pocket money through enterprise develop a whole different mindset. Parents of these children will encourage their children to look around to find opportunities. These kids learn to identify problems that they can solve and they’ll learn the art of negotiation. Enterprising children understand assets, liabilities, cash flow and profit. They will understand markets and customer service and they will develop the confidence to promote themselves.

Children earning pocket money though enterprise are more likely to value their profits and spend their money wisely. Weekly allowances are easily received and easily spent (knowing that more money will follow). This conditions kids to be reliant on a salary.

Enterprising children become self motivated to make money, and as they celebrate their successes, they quickly come to understand that they can in fact make a lot more money than their friends receiving weekly allowances.

According to entrepreneur, Cameron Herold (ted.com), parents wanting to raise entrepreneurial children won’t give pocket money to their kids. They will encourage their kids to go around their home or community and identify opportunities. These kids then make a plan and negotiate with either their parents or people in the community to provide the service or product for payment.

Getting prepared with his helpers.
Selling to customers.

Kids may not be motivated to do this at first, especially if they have been used to receiving a weekly allowance. The trick here is to make sure they have a big “Why!” They need to want something badly enough. This then becomes their goal and reason.

So back let’s get back to Chayse’s enterprising story! Was he able to earn his pocket money through his Lolly Bag business?

He had his first opportunity to sell his lolly bags at his big brothers’ soccer games. During the game the spectators (his potential customers) mill around on the sidelines. So we primed him on what to say to customers. We also enlisted the help of his brothers, Amber and friends. It was all great fun and soon enough the customers came rolling in!

Now who could knock back buying lollies from a cute smiling four year old!

His lolly bags sold like hot cakes for two dollars each. Chayse couldn’t hold up the box because it was too heavy, so he managed the money jar, whilst his helpers held the box. He had to take his customers money and give change.

As word spread that there were lollies for sale, kids came racing in from all directions to buy Chayse’s product. The box became lighter and the money jar heavier…  but despite the weight, he wasn’t going to relinquish it!

Chayse looked after his helpers by giving them each a lolly bag. Hopefully they will be willing helpers the next time he sells something.

Chayse also paid back the money his Dad lent him as capital to buy the lollies and plastic bags from the supermarket.

All up he was delighted with his fifty dollars net profit! He is now well on his way to reaching his goal to buy toy Nerf Guns. In fact his business was so successful, that Kit has recently decided to partner with him for his next endeavour! And under their mother’s guidance, they will research and decide on a charity that could benefit from some of their profits. So, stay tuned for that one!

Chayse is one of those children earning pocket money through enterprise. It would have taken him five weeks, with a weekly allowance of $5 a week to save the equivalent to what he profited at the soccer grounds during a soccer game.

In our next Enterprise For Kids blog we’ll introduce you to a self made millionaire who has some excellent tips for parents wanting to raise entrepreneurial kids. Don’t miss this article!