Raising Entrepreneurial Kids

Ideas, reflections, and real-life lessons for helping children build confidence, creativity, initiative, resilience, and entrepreneurial thinking.

Million Dollar Business Plan: Jai Coaches Chayse on a Road Trip

Enterprise For KidsTeam Chayse's Stories, Jai's Stories, Our Enterprising Kids Today, Raising Entrepreneurial Kids , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Jai Howitt coaching Chayse on a million dollar business plan during their Geraldton road trip

A million dollar business plan sounds like something created in a boardroom, but this one unfolded during a ten-hour road trip to Geraldton in Jai’s much-loved Land Rover.

Jai was travelling with his younger brother Chayse and their friend Flizzy to visit the boys’ grandparents. Along the way, Jai began coaching Chayse through a practical question: what would a realistic million dollar business plan look like for someone starting with limited money and experience?

It became much more than a business conversation. One brother’s experiences, successes and mistakes became a guide for another brother who is just beginning his own entrepreneurial journey.

The purpose of this million dollar business plan was not to promise overnight wealth. It was to help Chayse make better decisions, test ideas carefully and build evidence before investing too much time or money.

Jai and Chayse sitting on their grandparents’ front porch in Geraldton talking about business ideas

Editor’s note: This article shares Jai’s personal business framework and our family’s reflections on his journey. It is educational rather than financial advice, and no business plan can guarantee a particular result.

A Road Trip, Two Brothers and a Million Dollar Business Plan

Jai is nine years older than Chayse. He remembers clearly what it felt like to be Chayse’s age: ambitious, curious and convinced that there had to be a way to create a life on his own terms.

Chayse is now at that same stage. He has taught himself how to build websites and apps, work with artificial intelligence, create digital products, run marketing campaigns and pitch his skills to online businesses. He has experimented with NFTs and cryptocurrency, completed paid work for clients and recently secured an internship in digital content and user-generated content marketing.

He looks up to Jai, not because everything Jai has tried has worked, but because Jai has built, failed, adapted and built again.

That made the Geraldton trip an ideal opportunity for a longer conversation. There were no formal desks, presentation slides or classrooms. There was a long road, plenty of time and a younger brother ready to listen.

Jai’s Early Enterprise Lessons Began Long Before the Million Dollar Businesses

Jai, Chayse and Flizzy travelling in Jai’s Land Rover during their Geraldton road trip

For us, one of the most meaningful parts of this story is seeing how Jai’s current business thinking connects with the small enterprise experiences he had as a child.

Readers who followed Enterprise for Kids in the early years may remember Jai exploring technology, vlogging, media creation and app development. At around thirteen, he was already fascinated by the idea that technology could be used to create something valuable. His early Apple app enterprise idea did not become an instant success, but it taught him to think in terms of problems, products, technology and possibility.

Those childhood ideas were not wasted just because they did not immediately become profitable businesses. They were rehearsals. Jai was learning how to imagine an outcome, find information, ask for help, deal with roadblocks and keep moving.

This is one of the recurring themes in our family enterprise stories. The small experiments children try today may become the foundations of the work they do years later.

How Jai Learned the Lessons Behind His Million Dollar Business Plan

One of Jai’s most valuable early opportunities came when a successful businessman employed him to follow his work and family life with a camera.

Jai travelled with him, filmed his daily activities and recorded the business courses he delivered to clients in places including Bali and the Hunter Valley. He then spent hours editing the footage for social media and online course content.

On the surface, Jai was being paid to film and edit. In reality, he was receiving an unusually close education in business.

That kind of exposure is one reason we believe young entrepreneurs and business mentors can have such a powerful influence on children. Seeing how someone thinks, works and makes decisions can expand what a young person believes is possible.

He observed how the businessman communicated, taught, made decisions, served clients, structured offers and presented ideas. Jai was learning through proximity. He could see what business looked like from the inside rather than only reading about it from the outside.

Years later, the pattern came full circle. Flizzy was working with Jai, filming and creating content during the Geraldton trip, much as Jai had once done for his own mentor. Flizzy then shaped that footage into the YouTube video embedded below.

One young person had once learnt by carrying the camera. Now another young creator was doing the same while Jai passed his lessons to Chayse.

Watch Jai Coach Chayse Through His Million Dollar Business Plan

You can also watch Jai’s full video on YouTube.

What the Million Dollar Business Plan Teaches About Success and Failure

Jai’s advice did not come from theory alone. By the time of this conversation, he had already experienced several very different businesses.

One of his early ventures was a media agency called Brand Boostr. It grew quickly and, at one point, employed more than a dozen people. The business generated significant revenue, but rapid growth also exposed weaknesses. Jai discovered that sales and profit are not the same thing, and that poor cashflow management can place even a busy, successful-looking business under pressure.

These experiences also reinforce why financial education for kids needs to include more than earning money. Young people also need to understand value, expenses, assets, liabilities and the consequences of financial decisions.

Jai with products from his Naming This Later business

That experience was painful, but it became one of his most important lessons.

Jai later built Naming This Later with a business partner. They designed a versatile woven throw that could be used at the beach or in the home, had it manufactured in India and marketed it internationally through Facebook advertising. The business achieved more than one million dollars in sales. Jai eventually gifted his share to his business partner after recognising that his enthusiasm had moved elsewhere.

He also helped build Founder Sports Club, a membership community designed to help active entrepreneurs meet other founders through sport and real conversation. It now operates as part of Art of Mondays’ Founder Sports Club.

Today, Jai is building Art of Mondays with his business partner Evan. The business creates spaces and communities for ambitious people who want to build meaningful work while also creating a life they enjoy.

Across these businesses, Jai has experienced growth, pressure, excitement, loss of motivation, mistakes, reinvention and the consequences of moving too quickly. That is why his advice to Chayse is practical. He knows a good idea is not enough. A business must solve a meaningful problem, attract paying customers, manage money, deliver value and fit the life of the person building it.

Jai’s One-Page Million Dollar Business Plan

Jai describes this as the one-page playbook he has used when taking businesses from an idea towards the one-million-dollar-a-year level. His million dollar business plan is designed to keep the founder focused on evidence, customers and practical action rather than complicated forecasts or guesswork.

Jai’s handwritten one million dollar business plan in his notebook

It is not a traditional business plan filled with lengthy forecasts and formal documents. It is a decision-making framework. It helps a founder choose a worthwhile problem, test a solution quickly and build evidence before investing too much time or money.

For a simpler introduction suitable for younger students, our article on business plan ideas for students explores how training, tools, teamwork, time and clear goals can help turn an idea into action.

The strength of this million dollar business plan is that it begins with decisions and evidence rather than complicated forecasts or guesswork.

1. Begin With the Life You Want

Before choosing a business, Jai asks a bigger question:

What do you want your life to look like twelve months from now?

The answer should include more than an income target. It might include where you want to live, how you want to work, the people you want around you, the amount of freedom you want and the experiences you hope to create.

Jai also encourages Chayse to identify his anti-goals: the things he does not want his success to cost him.

  • I do not want to work twelve-hour days indefinitely.
  • I do not want to sacrifice my physical or mental health.
  • I do not want to build a business that makes travel impossible.
  • I do not want success to leave me isolated or lonely.

This is an important distinction. A business can look successful from the outside while creating a life the founder does not enjoy.

Handwritten note reading Solve a Problem You Understand

2. Solve a Problem You Understand

Jai’s next step is to carry a notebook for thirty days and record problems as they appear in everyday life.

Each problem can then be scored using two scales:

  • PAIN: How frustrating, expensive or difficult is this problem for the person experiencing it?
  • PLAY: How enjoyable and natural would solving this problem feel to you?

The most promising opportunities score highly on both. The customer genuinely wants relief from the problem, and the founder is interested enough in the solution to remain engaged when the work becomes difficult.

This is excellent advice for young entrepreneurs. Instead of beginning with, “How can I make money?”, begin with, “What problem can I solve well?”

This connects closely with our lesson on entrepreneurship for students, where we explore how young people can learn to notice opportunities, solve problems, create value and take action.

Handwritten note reading Find a Reference Point

3. Find a Reference Point

A completely original idea is not always an advantage.

Jai advises looking for another business that is already solving a similar problem. Its existence can provide evidence that customers recognise the problem and are willing to pay for a solution.

The goal is not to copy someone else. It is to understand the market, learn what customers already value and then create a clear difference.

4. Test the Business Model Before Falling in Love With the Idea

Jai talking to Chayse in the Land Rover about testing a business model before falling in love with the idea

Jai uses a simple checklist when assessing a possible business model:

  • Does it have a clear difference in the market?
  • Can it produce recurring revenue?
  • Can it achieve strong margins?
  • Can it scale without requiring an equally large increase in staff?
  • Can it be started without raising a large amount of outside capital?
  • Does it suit the founder’s desired way of living?

Not every worthwhile small business will meet every item perfectly. However, the checklist forces a young founder to think beyond whether the idea sounds exciting.

A strong business must work for both the customer and the person building it.

5. Build a Minimum Viable Product Quickly

Instead of spending months making a polished product in private, Jai encourages Chayse to build a minimum viable product, or MVP, within about three days.

The first version only needs to solve the central problem well enough for real people to try it.

His advice is:

  • Use the 80/20 rule.
  • Focus on the few features that create most of the value.
  • Aim to be meaningfully different rather than marginally better.
  • Offer the early version free when useful so people will test it.

This reduces the cost of being wrong. A founder learns from users before investing heavily in a product people may not want.

Within Jai’s million dollar business plan, speed matters because early testing can prevent months of work being invested in the wrong solution.

Handwritten note reading Ask for Feedback

6. Ask for Feedback and Improve Relentlessly

Once people begin using the product, Jai recommends asking direct questions:

  • What do you love about this idea?
  • What would you change or improve?
  • What is confusing or unnecessary?
  • How much would you realistically pay for it?

He suggests watching customers use the product, creating a simple group chat for suggestions and studying competitors’ one-star reviews. Complaints often reveal gaps that a new business can solve better.

At the same time, Jai warns against adding every requested feature. More does not always mean better. If removing a feature does not break the core solution, it may be noise rather than value.

Handwritten note reading Find the First Paying Customer

7. Find the First Paying Customer

A compliment is encouraging, but a paying customer is evidence.

This is a crucial point in the million dollar business plan: interest is useful, but a real sale provides much stronger evidence that the business is solving something valuable.

The first sale proves that someone values the solution enough to exchange real money for it. If people like the idea but will not pay, the founder may need to improve the product, solve a more painful problem or communicate the value more clearly.

This stage is not failure. It is information.

8. Build a Predictable Path to $100,000 a Year

Once the product works and customers are willing to pay, the next challenge is creating a repeatable way to attract more of them.

Jai and Chayse walking in Geraldton with a basketball while talking about business

Jai encourages choosing two lead-generation methods rather than trying everything at once. Options include:

  • direct outreach through email, messages or calls;
  • organic content across social media platforms;
  • referrals from happy customers;
  • networking and events;
  • paid advertising;
  • partnerships;
  • lead magnets, webinars and workshops; and
  • email marketing and customer retention.

His advice when growth slows is often to do more of what has already worked before abandoning it for a completely new strategy.

More volume, better execution, then something new.

9. Scale Towards One Million Dollars With More Focus, Not More Chaos

At this stage, Jai’s advice becomes surprisingly simple: do less, but do it with greater focus.

He encourages founders to increase the value they provide and create a logical pathway for customers:

  • give away something genuinely useful to attract the right people;
  • offer an affordable first paid product;
  • develop a recurring product or membership;
  • create a higher-value offer for customers who need deeper support.

He also emphasises content. Strong businesses need demand, and useful content can educate customers, build trust and show people why the solution matters.

Finally, founders need to decide what should be automated, delegated or eliminated. Growth becomes difficult when the founder remains responsible for every small task.

This stage of the million dollar business plan is about creating focused, repeatable growth rather than simply adding more work for the founder.

10. Choose Your Work, Environment and People Carefully

Jai and Chayse continuing their business conversation on a Zoom call after the Geraldton trip

Jai’s final lesson is not really about revenue.

He tells Chayse to spend more time deciding:

  • what he wants to do;
  • where he wants to live; and
  • who he wants to spend his time with.

Those three choices shape far more than a business. They shape a life.

“When I was young, a few people believed in me, and it changed what I believed was possible.”

This also connects with our article on limiting beliefs in children. Encouragement does not guarantee success, but it can help a young person believe they are capable of learning, trying and recovering when an idea does not work.

That belief is something Jai now wants to pass on.

Chayse Is Not Starting From Nothing

Although the video frames the challenge as building a business from scratch, Chayse is not beginning empty-handed.

Chayse looking into Jai’s Land Rover during the Geraldton trip

He already has years of self-directed learning behind him. He has built and sold digital assets, developed websites and apps, completed projects for paying clients and invested his own money in learning marketing skills. He understands online communities, content, artificial intelligence and the speed at which digital opportunities change.

Just as importantly, he has older siblings who can show him what success and failure actually look like.

When Chayse was four, we wrote about his little lolly business and the excitement of turning a small amount of start-up money into something more. Today, the products and platforms are different, but the foundation is familiar: notice an opportunity, make a plan, test the idea and learn through action.

You can follow more of his earlier and current journey through our Chayse Howitt stories.

The Mentorship Circle Comes Back Around

There is something especially powerful about the way this story connects three young men.

Jai once learnt by filming a businessman, listening to his teaching and observing how he worked. Flizzy was now working with Jai in a similar creative role. At the same time, Jai was mentoring Chayse and turning his own difficult business lessons into a clearer pathway for his younger brother.

This is how practical knowledge often moves between generations and peers. Someone opens a door, shares what they know and gives another person the confidence to begin.

It also reinforces why we continue to believe in raising entrepreneurial kids through real-world learning. We cannot predict which childhood project, family conversation, mentor or early failure will matter most. We can only create opportunities, encourage curiosity and help young people learn how to think.

Key Takeaway: A Million Dollar Business Plan Begins With Better Decisions

Key takeaway: Jai’s million dollar business plan is not a promise of quick wealth. It is a framework for making better decisions: choose the life you want, solve a painful problem, test the solution quickly, listen to customers, find a repeatable path to growth and stay focused on what creates real value.

For Chayse, the greatest advantage may not be the plan itself. It may be having a brother willing to share the wins, mistakes and hard-earned lessons behind it.

Jai and Chayse pointing at the camera while holidaying on the Cocos Islands

What is one problem you notice in your own life that could become the beginning of a useful business idea? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Limiting Beliefs in Children: 4 Simple Tools to Help Kids Know They Are Enough

Enterprise For KidsTeam Kit's Stories, Mindset, Confidence & Leadership, Raising Entrepreneurial Kids , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Kit as a young adult standing confidently with folded arms while working as a summer camp facilitator and team leader

Limiting beliefs in children can quietly shape the way they learn, take risks, make friends, handle failure and see their own future.

 

I was reminded of this recently while listening to Stephen Bartlett interview Marisa Peer on The Diary of a CEO. It made me think again about children, confidence, school, enterprise, and the stories young people quietly carry about themselves.

Limiting beliefs in children can shift through confidence, leadership and real responsibility as Kit leads a summer camp activity
Confidence often grows through real responsibility, leadership opportunities and the chance to step forward, even when it feels uncomfortable.

Marisa Peer has spent many years working with people around the subconscious mind, self-worth and the inner stories that shape behaviour. What fascinated me most was not only how this applies to adults, but how powerfully it applies to children, especially children we want to raise with confidence, creativity, resilience and an entrepreneurial mindset.

As a teacher, a parent, and someone who has spent years thinking about what helps children become capable and free-thinking, I found myself listening to that interview and thinking: this matters. This is not just personal development. This is family life. This is school life. This is enterprise education. This is the inner foundation that helps children believe they can have a go.

Important note: This article is a parent and teacher reflection, not medical or therapeutic advice. Hypnosis and clinical therapies should only be used by properly trained professionals with appropriate consent. The toolkit below is deliberately simple, practical and suitable for everyday family or classroom encouragement.

The Three Beliefs Behind Limiting Beliefs in Children

One of the ideas that stayed with me was Marisa Peer’s explanation that many adult struggles are connected to a few deep beliefs formed early in life. In the interview, she described three common inner patterns:

  • I am different, so I do not truly belong or connect.
  • What I want is not available to me, or in everyday language, I do not deserve it or it is not for people like me.
  • I am not enough: not smart enough, good enough, organised enough, attractive enough, capable enough or worthy enough.

Those words are simple, but they are powerful. I have seen versions of them in children. A student who says, “I’m just bad at maths.” A child who avoids trying because they believe others are naturally better. A teenager who studies hard, does the homework, then performs below where they hoped and begins to think, “Maybe I’m not as smart as I thought.”

When we notice limiting beliefs in children, we can begin to help them separate a result from their identity. A disappointing mark, a mistake, a failed attempt or an awkward moment does not have to become a story about who they are.

I have also seen versions of this in myself. In futures day trading, for example, I can be disciplined and successful in practice mode. Yet when real money is involved, and I am in a live room with a professional trader and other traders around me, different behaviours can appear: fear of missing out, impatience, greed, revenge trading, the need to take action, or a lack of trust in the plan.

On the surface, that looks like a trading problem. But underneath, it may also be an identity and belief problem. If something in the subconscious is trying to prove I am not enough, escape discomfort, or force action so I feel in control, then no strategy will work properly until that inner pattern is addressed.

That links strongly with what we have written about before on Enterprise for Kids: success is never only about the external strategy. It is also about the inner story.

In our earlier article Money Mastery: Lessons from Paul Counsel’s Program, we reflected that financial freedom is not only about numbers. It is also about beliefs, choices, habits, values and identity. In Sean Rasmussen… Developing Self Esteem, we explored how self-image shapes behaviour, and how children can begin to act from the story they hold about themselves. And in Entrepreneurship for Students: How Entrepreneurs Think, we wrote about the conditioning young people receive around money, work and what is possible.

How Limiting Beliefs in Children Are Strengthened by Repetition

Another idea from Marisa Peer that struck me was her point that the mind learns by repetition. A belief is often just a thought we have thought over and over until it feels true.

Marisa Peer being interviewed by Steven Bartlett in a discussion that prompted reflection on limiting beliefs in children
Marisa Peer’s conversation with Steven Bartlett prompted this reflection on how beliefs, repetition and self-worth can shape children and adults.

That is a confronting idea, because children repeat thoughts all the time:

  • I can’t do this.
  • I’m not good at school.
  • Everyone else finds this easier than me.
  • I always mess things up.
  • I am shy.
  • I am not a maths person.
  • I am not creative.
  • People like them succeed. People like me do not.

When a child repeats those thoughts, the thoughts become familiar. Then familiarity starts to feel like truth. From there, the child may act in ways that confirm the belief. They avoid the task, perform nervously, give up early, or stop putting themselves forward. The result then becomes more “proof” that the belief was right.

This is where limiting beliefs in children can become a quiet pattern. The child is not trying to be difficult. They may simply be repeating a story that has started to feel true.

This is why the language we use around children matters so much. It is also why the language children use about themselves matters. If the subconscious mind responds strongly to repetition, then we need to be deliberate about the repeated words, repeated experiences and repeated identities we allow children to practise.

Limiting Beliefs in Children and the “I Am Enough” Message

At the end of the interview, Marisa Peer returned to a very simple phrase: “I am enough.”

I have been saying it often since listening to the podcast. I have also encouraged Akaisha, our fifteen-year-old daughter, to say it as well. She has had some recent assessment disappointments at school, despite doing homework and studying, and that can become a real knock to confidence.

When a child starts to come in below where they hoped, the danger is that the assessment result becomes an identity statement. Instead of “I did not get the result I wanted this time,” the child starts to hear, “I am not good enough.”

That is where “I am enough” is so important. It does not mean “I do not need to try.” It does not mean “I am perfect.” It means:

  • I am enough to learn.
  • I am enough to try again.
  • I am enough even when I get feedback.
  • I am enough before the result arrives.
  • My worth is not determined by one mark, one trade, one business attempt, one friendship problem, or one mistake.

For me, this phrase is one simple way to soften limiting beliefs in children. It gives them somewhere steadier to stand before they try again.

Children who know they are enough can still aim high. In fact, they are often more able to aim high because they are not paralysed by the fear that failure will prove something terrible about who they are.

Why Limiting Beliefs in Children Matter for Enterprising Kids

Enterprise is not only about starting a business. It is about taking initiative, spotting opportunities, solving problems, serving people, handling money, communicating, recovering from setbacks and creating something useful in the world.

That kind of learning requires confidence. It requires a child to walk up to a customer, try a new idea, ask a question, receive a “no”, count money, make mistakes, adjust the plan and keep going.

We saw this with Kit and Chayse in their lolly business. In Kit and Chayse and a Lesson on Self Efficacy, we wrote about how repeated action helped build confidence. Kit was shy at first, but by putting himself out there over time, he began to develop self-efficacy: the belief that he could take action and influence the result.

That is what we want for children. Not fake confidence. Not empty praise. We want the deep inner belief that says, “I can learn. I can improve. I can solve problems. I can handle discomfort. I am enough to have a go.”

Seeing Limiting Beliefs Shift in Kit’s Journey

Looking at Kit now, I can see how much confidence can grow when a young person is given real responsibility and the chance to step into uncomfortable but meaningful experiences.

Limiting beliefs in children can shift through real responsibility as Kit leads outdoor group games at summer camp
Kit leading outdoor group games at summer camp — a real example of confidence, responsibility and leadership growing through experience.

Kit is currently in the USA for the second time working at a summer camp for three to four months. He has been placed in a leadership role, responsible for a large group of children and teenagers. He has also been involved in trekking camps into the wilderness, helping facilitate a leadership program for 16 and 17 year olds through a range of practical activities and challenges.

That did not appear out of nowhere. Before these summer camp roles, Kit completed outdoor education courses, worked as an intern at Margaret River Senior High School, and facilitated school groups through camp activities with Dare Adventures in Dwellingup.

Kit loves travel, people and new experiences. He also loves helping children build confidence and step into leadership. To me, that is a beautiful example of what can happen when children grow through responsibility, self-belief and repeated chances to have a go.

You can read more of Kit’s earlier Enterprise for Kids journey in Kit’s Stories.

A Simple Toolkit for Limiting Beliefs in Children

Toolbox for limiting beliefs in children with four tools to help kids know they are enough
A simple toolbox for helping children notice limiting beliefs, practise helpful words, take responsibility, reframe thoughts and celebrate small wins.

The following toolkit is not therapy. It is a practical set of family and classroom strategies inspired by Marisa Peer’s ideas, our own parenting journey, and the Enterprise for Kids philosophy.

These tools are not about pretending limiting beliefs in children do not exist. They are about helping children notice the old story, question it gently, and practise something more useful.

1. Become a Belief Detective

When a child says something limiting, do not rush too quickly to correct it. First, help them notice it.

You might ask:

  • Where did that belief come from?
  • Is it definitely true?
  • Who told you that?
  • Is it true all the time, or only sometimes?
  • What would be a more useful belief?

For example, if a child says, “I’m just bad at writing,” we can gently reframe it: “You are learning to organise your ideas. That is different from being bad at writing.”

The aim is to help children separate the event from the identity. A result is feedback. It is not a life sentence.

2. Replace the Old Script With an “I Am Enough” Script

Children need simple words they can repeat until the new belief starts to feel familiar. The phrase “I am enough” is a powerful beginning, but it can be linked to the exact challenge the child is facing.

For assessments:

  • I am enough, and I can learn this step by step.
  • Everything I have studied is stored in my mind, and I can access it calmly.
  • This test is a chance to show what I know, not a threat to who I am.

For enterprise:

  • I am enough to speak to a customer.
  • I am enough to receive a no and keep going.
  • I am enough to solve problems and improve my idea.

For sport or performance:

  • I am enough to have a go.
  • My body knows what to do because I have practised.
  • I can stay calm, focused and ready.

For parents, including myself, the same principle applies. A trader might say, “I am enough without needing to force the next trade. I can wait for my setup. I can follow my plan. Missing one trade does not mean missing my future.”

3. Build an Evidence Bank

The subconscious loves familiar evidence. If a child has practised looking for failure, they will keep finding it. So we can help children practise looking for evidence of capability.

Create an “evidence bank” with your child. This could be a notebook, a jar, a poster, a notes app or a small card on the fridge. Add evidence such as:

  • A time they kept trying.
  • A time they solved a problem.
  • A time they were brave.
  • A time they asked for help.
  • A time they improved after feedback.
  • A time they made a sale, spoke to someone, performed, finished a task or recovered from disappointment.

This connects beautifully with our earlier writing about self-image. Children need to dwell on successes, not only mistakes. They need repeated proof that they are capable.

4. Rehearse the Identity Before the Event

Before a test, performance, market stall, sports game or difficult conversation, help the child mentally rehearse who they are going to be.

This is not about pretending in a shallow way. It is about giving the mind a useful blueprint. Marisa Peer talks about the mind responding to the pictures and words we give it. We have also used similar ideas in earlier Enterprise for Kids articles around intention, vision boards and goal setting.

A simple three-step rehearsal might be:

  1. Close your eyes and see yourself walking into the situation calmly.
  2. Say the identity statement: “I am enough. I am calm. I am prepared. I can handle this.”
  3. Picture one small successful action: answering the first question, greeting the first customer, waiting for the right trade, serving the ball, or asking for help.

Children do not need long visualisations. Two calm minutes can be enough to shift their emotional state and give the subconscious a better script to follow.

Helping Children Move Beyond Limiting Beliefs at School

As a primary school teacher, I can see huge potential for this work in schools. Again, I am not suggesting hypnosis in classrooms. I am talking about simple, age-appropriate belief and confidence tools that support learning and wellbeing.

Imagine a class routine like this:

  • Morning belief check: “What is one useful thought I want to practise today?”
  • Before assessments: “I am prepared. I can stay calm. I can show what I know.”
  • After feedback: “This is information. It helps me know what to practise next.”
  • Weekly evidence bank: students write one example of effort, courage or improvement.
  • Enterprise challenge reflection: “What problem did I solve? What did I learn about myself?”

Over time, students can begin to understand that their thoughts are not always facts. A thought can be questioned. A belief can be upgraded. A result can be learned from. A child can be more than the story they inherited.

Why “Fake It Until You Make It” Needs Careful Language

One part of Marisa Peer’s message that intrigued me was the idea of telling your mind a better story before you fully believe it. Some people call this “fake it until you make it”.

I understand what she means. If a child keeps saying, “I am going to fail,” the mind and body may begin to respond as if failure is already happening. If the child practises saying, “I can stay calm and remember what I have learned,” the body may respond differently.

However, with children, I would be careful not to make it feel false or forced. Instead of asking a child to say something they completely reject, we can build bridge statements:

  • I am learning to believe I can do this.
  • I am becoming more confident with practice.
  • I do not know it yet, but I can learn it.
  • This is hard, and I can take the next step.
  • I am enough, even while I am still learning.

Bridge statements are powerful because they are believable enough for the conscious mind and useful enough for the subconscious mind.

The Enterprising Kids Mindset Starts Inside

The more I reflect on Marisa Peer’s interview, the more I see how closely it connects with the Enterprise for Kids message.

We can give children market stalls, money lessons, leadership camps, business ideas, mentors and opportunities. Those things matter. But if a child carries the belief “I am not enough,” they may still hold back from the very opportunities that could help them grow.

If a child believes they are different and cannot connect, they may avoid customers, teams and friendships. If they believe success is not available to them, they may not even try. If they believe they are not enough, they may interpret every mistake as proof they should stop.

Our job as parents and teachers is not to remove every struggle. It is to help children build the inner foundation that allows them to face struggle without losing themselves.

That foundation can begin with three words:

I am enough.

When children know that, they can learn, risk, create, fail, adjust, serve, sell, study, trade, perform and try again from a stronger place.

Key takeaway: Limiting beliefs in children can quietly shape confidence, learning and enterprise. When we help children notice the old story, repeat a better one, collect evidence of capability and rehearse who they are becoming, we give them a stronger foundation for success.

What limiting belief did you have to outgrow as a child? And what belief would you love your own children to grow up knowing? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Kids Mindset for Success: Planning and Goal Setting

Enterprise For KidsTeam Mindset, Confidence & Leadership, Raising Entrepreneurial Kids , , , , , , , , , 0 Comment
Young kids in suits showing a determined kids mindset for success

Kids mindset for success begins with helping children turn their dreams, ideas and intentions into a clear plan they can actually follow.

During my career-path conversation with my son Jai, he was able to visualise himself, his surroundings and the companions he wanted in his adult future. 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 with Cathy showing a kids mindset for success
Natalie Cook stood on a chair for this photo!

Kids Mindset for Success Starts With a Plan

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

On an adult level, well-made plans should be a natural component of what you perceive as your life’s purpose — your “Why” in life. Of course, children who are entrepreneurial may not have solidified their life purpose to this extent yet. But they can still begin learning how to set meaningful goals, create intentions and take practical steps forward.

A plan helps children move from vague wishing into purposeful action.

Helping Kids Set Clear Intentions

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

Write an intention on a small piece of paper, but do not use the future tense.

For instance, an adult might write:

“I have attracted a healthy, motivated business person to my business this month.”

That is much stronger than writing:

“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 somewhere you will view it regularly. The idea is to set a specific and realistic goal, then see it, believe it and feel it.

Plan for kids mindset for success

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

For children, this is not about pressure. It is about learning to direct their thoughts, language and energy toward something positive and achievable.

Having a Defined Goal Builds a Kids Mindset for Success

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 is no chance of hitting the bullseye if you are unable to see it.

That image is a wonderful one for children. If they cannot see what they are aiming for, how can they know which direction to move? A clearly defined goal helps children understand what they are working toward and why their daily actions matter.

This is especially important for entrepreneurial kids, because business ideas can easily remain just ideas unless they are supported by a plan.

Vision Boards and a Kids Mindset for Success

Another technique is visualising goals using a vision board.

Select the experiences, goals and things that you would like to have in your life. Then make a poster board using images, words and graphics. Place the vision board somewhere you will see it daily.

The important part is not just making the board. The important part is seeing it often, visualising the items on the board, and imagining them as if they were real and already present in your life.

Child facing fears and building a mindset for success
Facing your fears! Walking on broken glass!

A vision board can help children begin to connect their imagination with action. It gives them a visual reminder of what they care about and where they are heading.

For some kids, this might include sport, travel, family, creativity, business ideas, friendships, learning goals or ways they want to contribute to the world.

Positive Affirmations Lead 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. Her Olympic journey is a strong example of discipline, planning and follow-through. You can read more about her work and speaking through Natalie Cook’s official website.

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 kids mindset for success.

Natalie Cook’s Five Ps Series

This article is Part 4 in our series on Natalie Cook’s Five Ps for helping entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens develop purpose, people, passion, perseverance, planning and a mindset for success.

Where to Next?

How do you help your children set goals and follow a plan? Leave a comment and share one strategy that has helped build a mindset for success in your family.

Teaching Perseverance to Kids: Natalie Cook’s Five Ps

Enterprise For KidsTeam Mindset, Confidence & Leadership, Raising Entrepreneurial Kids , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments
Cathy Howitt with Natalie Cook in a lesson about teaching perseverance to kids

Teaching perseverance to kids is one of the most important parts of helping them develop a mindset for success, because every child will face setbacks, rejection and moments when things feel too hard.

A baby learns to walk by falling over many times. An entrepreneur learns to succeed after stumbling along the way. In this third part of Natalie Cook’s Five Ps series, we look at her fourth P: Perseverance — perseverance on our children’s part, and perseverance on ours as parents too.

Kids working together on a computer while learning perseverance and problem solving
Perseverance grows when children work through challenges, solve problems together and keep going when learning gets difficult.

Teaching Perseverance to Kids Through Real-Life Setbacks

One of the best ways to teach children perseverance is to let them see adults handle setbacks in a healthy way.

For example, Cathy and I have learned that in the business of referring people to an opportunity, many people will simply not be interested. With enterprising teens watching, how do parents set an example to persevere when people say “No”?

The mindset for success is to celebrate the “No.”

After enough “No” responses, a “Yes” will inevitably follow. One of my mentors, David Wood, says to do the Happy Dance whenever you get a “No,” because the rejection has only moved you one step closer to the “Yes.”

Perseverance for Kids Means Learning to Handle Rejection

Your kids, whether entrepreneurial or not, are going to like seeing that Happy Dance.

It becomes a practical, memorable way to help seal the behavioural pattern of success in their mindsets. Being able to overcome rejection in business, rejection from friends and even rejection from family is paramount when teaching perseverance to kids.

The lesson is simple but powerful: rejection is not the end of the road. It is part of the road.

For entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens, this matters. A child who can hear “No” and still keep going has a much stronger foundation than a child who believes every “No” means they have failed.

Changing the Language Children Use About Perseverance

Our vocabulary also plays a huge part in our ability to persevere.

In our family, “Can’t” is a swear word and is not allowed to be used at any time. “Can” is encouraged.

Many people, including kids, are quick to give up when the going gets tough. They say, “I can’t,” rather than “I can.” The little kids in my family actually believe “can’t” is a swear word, right up there with the other big four-letter words!

This might sound funny, but it is also a powerful family rule.

When children repeatedly say “I can’t,” they begin training themselves to stop. When they learn to say “I can try,” “I can learn,” or “I can have another go,” they begin building the internal language of perseverance.

Teaching Perseverance to Kids With “That Was Easy”

Another phrase to abandon is, “It’s too hard.”

Natalie Cook showed us a little trick she used to change her perception of what is hard. She bought a toy button that calls out, “That was easy!” when you press it. Natalie would strap this toy button to her volleyball net pole.

Whenever she did something very well that was also very difficult, she would run up to press the button:

“That was easy!”

Try it for yourself. Press the button below.

Being the best in the world at your sport certainly has its challenges, and my kids would love to try out one of those buttons.

But whether or not you have the button, the point is not to keep telling yourself, “That was hard.”

A child’s brain listens carefully to repeated language. If the phrase is always “too hard,” the child begins to expect defeat. If the phrase becomes “I can try,” “I can learn,” or even “that was easy,” the child begins to rehearse a different identity.

Natalie Cook’s Example of Perseverance

Natalie Cook’s Olympic journey is a strong example of perseverance in action. Her official Olympic profile describes her as a five-time Olympian and Olympic gold and bronze medallist in beach volleyball, which makes her a powerful role model when teaching children about commitment, setbacks and long-term success. Read more about Natalie Cook’s Olympic journey here.

Children often see the medal, the success or the final moment of victory.

What they do not always see are the early mornings, the missed shots, the injuries, the disappointments, the training sessions and the moments when an athlete has to choose whether to keep going.

That is why perseverance is such an important lesson for kids. It teaches them that success is not just about talent. It is also about what they do after things become difficult.

Why Perseverance Belongs in the Mindset for Success

These tactics — celebrating the “No,” changing our language, and reframing hard things as achievable — can all increase the level of perseverance in kids and help keep them on a successful track.

But perseverance becomes easier when children also have direction.

That is where the next P comes in: Plan.

A plan gives perseverance somewhere to go. It helps children understand the next step, not just the final dream. Without a plan, perseverance can feel like pushing in the dark. With a plan, children can see that each effort is moving them forward.

Make sure you have a look at the short video above that we made of Natalie Cook giving a special message to our kids. Can you spot the blooper?

Natalie Cook’s Five Ps Series

This article is Part 3 in our series on Natalie Cook’s Five Ps for helping entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens develop purpose, people, passion, perseverance, planning and a mindset for success.

Where to Next?

How do you help your children persevere when things get tough? Leave us a comment and share one strategy that has worked in your family.

Entrepreneurial Kids: How to Teach Purpose and Success

Enterprise For KidsTeam Mindset, Confidence & Leadership, Raising Entrepreneurial Kids , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments
Natalie Cook diving for the ball at the Sydney Olympics beach volleyball final

Entrepreneurial kids need more than a good idea or a burst of enthusiasm — they need a strong sense of purpose that helps them keep going when the path becomes difficult.

This lesson became very clear to me after hearing Olympic gold medallist Natalie Cook speak in Perth. Natalie is a five-time Olympian and one of Australia’s most inspiring beach volleyball champions. Her message about success, purpose and the mindset of high achievers was powerful not only for athletes, but also for parents raising entrepreneurial kids.

Natalie Cook gold medallist sharing lessons for entrepreneurial kids
Natalie Cook, Olympic gold medallist, shared powerful lessons about purpose and success.

Why Entrepreneurial Kids Need a Strong Purpose

Natalie Cook is a wonderful example of the connection between sport, business and personal success. She won Olympic gold with Kerri Pottharst at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and went on to become a respected speaker, leader and businesswoman. You can read more about her Olympic journey on the Australian Olympic Committee’s Natalie Cook profile.

When Natalie spoke in Perth, she explained that professional athletes and successful business owners have many things in common. Both need discipline, courage, focus and the ability to keep moving towards a goal, even when the obstacles are real.

Her message was captivating, humorous and very useful for cultivating a mindset for success in entrepreneurial kids — and, just as importantly, in their adult counterparts.

Natalie Cook’s Five Ps for Success

Natalie built her talk around what she called the Five Ps. These were principles that could apply to children, athletes, families and business owners alike.

Over a series of posts, I wanted to share these Five Ps and connect them to the way we raise enterprising, confident and purpose-driven children. I will also be adding one extra “P” of my own at the end. After hearing Natalie’s five, I wonder if you can guess what mine might be.

For this first part, we begin with one of the most important foundations of all.

Entrepreneurial Kids and the Power of Purpose

A person who truly reaches for success has a mindset that carries with it a very strong “Why,” or purpose.

Your “Why” must be stronger than your “Why not?”

If it is not, you may not have enough purpose to muster up the will to make your goals happen when barriers appear. A strong purpose gives children something deeper to hold onto. It turns a vague wish into a reason to keep trying.

Your “Why” has to be specific and close to the heart. It does not need to be complicated.

A friend of mine is driven to succeed because she desperately wants her mum to be happy and not have to work anymore. Another wants to buy a villa in Tuscany so that she can reconnect with her Italian family roots and create a sense of belonging.

These “Whys” are very different from saying, “Why not?” They are clear purposes, not poor explanations.

Teaching Purpose to Kids Through Real Conversations

Your “Why” will often come from one of two emotions: pain or pleasure. Usually, pain is the stronger of the two.

Think about the rags-to-riches stories we often hear about well-known success mentors and creators such as JK Rowling, Colonel Sanders, Sylvester Stallone, Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, Susan Boyle and Richard Branson. Their difficult experiences helped shape a strong “Why,” and that purpose became part of what carried them forward.

For entrepreneurial kids, this does not mean they need to experience hardship before they can succeed. It means they need to understand what matters to them. They need to begin asking deeper questions about contribution, growth, family, freedom, creativity and the kind of life they want to build.

Cathy and Trevor with Natalie Cook after a talk about purpose and success
Amy, Cathy, Natalie, Tracey, Kym and Trevor after Natalie Cook’s inspiring talk.

I recently carried out a “Why” exercise with my son, Jai.

We had just returned from a career pathway meeting for his upcoming senior class. Every pathway the school presented seemed to end in landing a j-o-b — just-over-broke. Whether the route was through university, technical school or straight into the average 40-year career, the end result sounded much the same.

There was nothing for an enterprising teen to really grab hold of.

Worse still, because the students were nearing the end of high school, the pressure was on to make a choice. It felt like a limited choice, based on hastily presented ideas rather than a deeply considered purpose.

The result was confusion. Jai seemed torn between going to university with his mates because it sounded like fun, or leaving school with his cousin and going to make money in the mines.

This inconsistency told me that Jai’s “Whys” for both of these career paths were too vague.

Purpose quote for entrepreneurial kids learning their why

Questions That Help Entrepreneurial Kids Find Their Why

So, we got to work.

We discussed why these two ideas sounded interesting to him. We talked about the difference between a strong “Why” and a casual “Why not?” We also explored why “Why not?” is unlikely to carry a person through the hard parts of either choice.

Then I asked Jai to ponder three questions:

  1. How do you want to contribute to this world?
  2. How do you want to grow as a person?
  3. How do you want to be remembered when you pass?

These are big questions for a teenager. In fact, they are big questions for adults too.

But they matter.

If we want to raise entrepreneurial kids who can think for themselves, create opportunities and build meaningful lives, we need to help them move beyond surface-level choices. We need to help them understand what drives them.

Purpose Comes Before the Plan

Many children are asked what job they want before they are asked what kind of life they want.

They are asked what subjects they will choose before they are asked what they care about.

They are asked which pathway they will follow before they have had time to discover the purpose behind the pathway.

This is why purpose matters so much. A plan without purpose can become a list of tasks. Purpose gives the plan energy, direction and meaning.

For entrepreneurial kids, purpose is not just about making money. It is about knowing why they want to create, serve, solve, build, lead or contribute in the first place.

Next, we continue the journey in Part 2: People and Passion, where we explore how the right people and passions can help shape entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens.

Natalie Cook’s Five Ps Series

This article is Part 1 in our series on Natalie Cook’s Five Ps for helping entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens develop purpose, people, passion, perseverance, planning and a mindset for success.

Where to Next?

We are always looking for feedback on our entrepreneurial kids articles. What is your “Why”? Leave a comment and share the purpose that keeps you moving forward.

Enterprising Teens: People, Passion and Success

Enterprise For KidsTeam Mindset, Confidence & Leadership, Raising Entrepreneurial Kids , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments
Jai thinking about people and passion as an enterprising teen

Enterprising teens need more than a career pathway or a good business idea — they need the right people around them and a passion strong enough to keep them moving forward.

After my son Jai and I discussed the first of Natalie Cook’s Five Ps, Purpose, I asked him to make a timeline of his life. I wanted him to focus on his surroundings, but more importantly, on the people who would be with him.

Jai thinking about the people and passions that support enterprising teens
Jai thinking about the people and passions that could help shape his enterprising teen journey.

Why Enterprising Teens Need the Right People

Natalie Cook’s second P is People.

Attracting the right people in life is key to building a successful young entrepreneur. But whether Jai chose to be an enterprising teen or follow a different path, what mattered most to me was his mindset for success in whatever direction he chose.

So, I asked him to imagine where he would like to be sitting five years from now — and with whom.

Then ten years from now.

Then forty years from now.

I asked him to picture what was around him, who his associates were, and what made those people so valuable to him that their presence would still be visible in his future decades later.

People quote for enterprising teens learning about success

What Natalie Cook Taught About People and Success

Natalie Cook’s career is a powerful example of what the right people, passion and support can help create. Her official Olympic profile describes her as a five-time Olympian and Olympic gold and bronze medallist in beach volleyball, making her a strong real-world role model for enterprising teens. Read more about Natalie Cook’s Olympic journey here.

Natalie discussed the value of surrounding herself with the right people while training to become an Olympic gold medallist. Around her were coaches, mindset mentors, professionals and peers whose encouragement lifted her up rather than criticism that tore her down.

This is a powerful lesson for enterprising teens.

The people around our children influence how they think, what they believe is possible, and the standards they quietly begin to accept for themselves. Friends, mentors, coaches, teachers, family members and business role models can all shape a child’s confidence and direction.

As parents, we cannot choose every influence our children will meet. But we can help them become more conscious of the people they allow close to them.

Helping Enterprising Teens Choose Positive Influences

It is important for enterprising teens to spend time with the sort of people they would like to learn from, grow with and, in some ways, emulate.

This goes beyond simple peer pressure. Children and teenagers absorb attitudes, habits, language, confidence and expectations from the people around them. If they are constantly surrounded by people who complain, criticise or limit possibility, that can become their normal.

But if they are surrounded by people who encourage, create, question, build, serve and keep learning, that can also become their normal.

This does not mean they need to abandon old friends or judge others harshly. It simply means they can learn to ask better questions:

  • Who encourages me to become better?
  • Who helps me believe more is possible?
  • Who lives with values I respect?
  • Who makes me feel more confident, creative and capable?
  • Who would I love to learn from?

These are not just business questions. They are life questions.

Enterprising Teens Learn Success by Helping People

One of the things I love about business and enterprise is that, at its heart, it is about people.

It does not matter whether the enterprise is large or small. It could be a child’s first market stall, a family business, a service project, a creative idea, or a future company. When young people learn to be genuinely helpful to others, their chances of success increase.

Helping people gives enterprising teens and adults an energy that attracts the right people into their lives. It teaches them that business is not only about making money. It is also about solving problems, creating value and building relationships.

This is a lesson children can begin learning very early.

Why Passion Matters for Enterprising Teens

Natalie Cook’s third P is Passion.

People are naturally attracted to those who have passion for what they do. Passion gives energy to an idea. It helps a young person keep going when the excitement wears off and the work begins.

Natalie has spoken about the importance of loving the process, not just the outcome. That is a valuable message for enterprising teens, because the process is where most of the growth happens.

Success is not only found in the final result. It is found in the practice, the learning, the mistakes, the conversations, the courage and the small daily decisions that eventually become a life.

Passion quote for enterprising teens developing a mindset for success

Jai wanted something he could stick with for the long term.

Having him visualise himself, his surroundings and his companions far into the future helped him reach a place that felt more connected to his own passion. It was something apart from what others were expecting of him. It was a desire that felt less likely to fade with time.

His spirit was guiding him, rather than the social conditioning of school, friends and family.

People and Passion Come Before the Pathway

This is one of the problems I see with the way many teenagers are asked to make career decisions.

They are often asked to choose a pathway before they have deeply considered the people they want around them, the kind of contribution they want to make, and the passions that might sustain them over time.

For enterprising teens, this matters.

A pathway without people can feel lonely.

A pathway without passion can become heavy.

But when a young person begins to understand who inspires them, who strengthens them, and what lights them up from the inside, their decisions become clearer.

That does not mean every choice becomes easy. It means the choices begin to come from a deeper place.

Natalie Cook’s Five Ps Series

This article is Part 2 in our series on Natalie Cook’s Five Ps for helping entrepreneurial kids and enterprising teens develop purpose, people, passion, perseverance, planning and a mindset for success.

Where to Next?

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