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.
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…
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!
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.
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.
