real-world learning

Entrepreneurship Activities for Students: Amber’s Green SuperCamp Reflection

Enterprise For KidsTeam Amber's Stories, Family Adventure & Real-World Learning, Mindset, Confidence & Leadership , , , , , , , , ,
entrepreneurship activities for students Amber leading run at Green SuperCamp

Entrepreneurship activities for students do not always look like business plans and market stalls. Sometimes they look like leadership camps, team challenges, goal setting, confidence building and learning how to step out of your comfort zone.

Amber’s Green SuperCamp reflection shows how real-world learning experiences can help children grow in confidence, courage, communication and initiative.

entrepreneurship activities for students Amber at Green SuperCamp with new friends
Amber and new friends.

Entrepreneurship Activities for Students at Green SuperCamp

For our readers who were expecting Part 3 to our “Teaching Your Kids To Achieve Success” series of articles, I’d like to let you know that will be up very soon and it will be well worth the read.

Flynn and Amber Howitt have just returned from a Young Leaders Camp in Bali. As it is so fresh and exciting, I thought we would interrupt our five-part series and share some snippets of Amber’s experience whilst on camp.

Before I hand you over to Amber, I would like to give our readers a little background about Green SuperCamp, which was held at Green School Bali.

In 2012, three of our children — Kaitlin, Jai and Flynn — attended the camp and returned full of experience and wisdom. The camp is designed to create young leaders who care for our future world.

It does this by building their confidence, encouraging them to think big, and giving them the skills to learn, interact and step out of their comfort zones. In this way, it becomes one of those powerful entrepreneurship activities for students that teaches far more than a normal classroom lesson.

Leadership and learning activities:

student leadership activity Amber participating in a team performance
Amber participating in a team performance.
entrepreneurship activities for students Flynn learning trust through teamwork
Flynn learning to trust.

This year Amber was old enough to go along too. She was very excited because she had heard all the awesome stories and learning from her siblings’ camp experiences the year before.

Also, a bunch of friends from Western Australia were coming along as well — Maddi Barrett, Macy Hobson, Georgia Dewar and Lachlan McRoberts.

To learn more about the philosophy of Green School Bali, you can read our earlier article.

Amber Howitt’s Green SuperCamp Reflection

So enough from me… here is Amber Howitt’s Green SuperCamp reflection.

Green SuperCamp, for me, was an amazing experience! Everyone there is treated evenly and kindly. No one is excluded or mistreated, so everyone is happy.

Your phones and valuables are given in, but you can reunite with your valuables almost every night to contact your parents.

Learning through real activities:

student learning activity grinding grain at Green SuperCamp
Grinding grain.
entrepreneurship activities for students teamwork at Green SuperCamp
Flynn and his SuperCamp team.

The Green SuperCamp itself is built mainly out of bamboo. It is nurtured and cared for by the people within it.

They use water from their lake and purify it. People from the world outside Green School can come and collect the water for free and use it in their homes.

Green School is meant so people around the community can be involved with the school. They make their own power using solar energy and grow their own food in food gardens.

Goal Setting as Entrepreneurship Activities for Students

The camp has inspired me to do more with my life, rather than just sit around and be… normal.

It has inspired me to take challenges, adventures and think of the things I could be doing. Writing books and travelling around the world are two of my crazy ideas. Those things might be a little hard for someone at the age of eleven though, but I can try to work up to that goal.

The steps for goal making are:

  • Design it
  • Outline it
  • In your face — tackle barriers
  • Take action!

Because of this, goal setting is one of the most practical entrepreneurship activities for students. It helps children imagine a future, break it into steps and take responsibility for moving forward.

Facing challenges and building trust:

entrepreneurship activities for students high ropes course facing fears
High ropes course. Facing fears!
team trust activity for students Flynn floating on hands
Flynn floating on hands.

Learning Strategies and Student Confidence

We were taught Quantum Reading and Writing. I improved my reading speed with the same comprehension by over 100%.

I concentrated by using the Alpha State. Alpha State is a technique to relax and concentrate better.

The steps to Alpha State are:

  • Sit up
  • Breathe in and out
  • Close eyes
  • Think of a peaceful place
  • Roll eyes up and down
  • Open eyes
  • Concentrate

These strategies are useful because they help students understand how they learn. For entrepreneurial kids, focus, confidence and self-awareness are just as important as having a business idea.

Camp life and friendships:

student life skills activity preparing home grown food at camp
Maddi preparing the home grown food.
students building friendships at Green SuperCamp
Macy and Georgia

Communication as Entrepreneurship Activities for Students

The friendships you can make at Green SuperCamp are really special. I made friends with both team leaders and kids from all over the world.

It is really easy to do so because everyone wants to make friends. Sometimes your relationships can last forever.

Green SuperCamp teaches you how to have the courage to become friends. No one is alone at Green School or Green SuperCamp.

I also learnt techniques to help me learn. These help me improve my relationship with my teachers. We call this “SLANT”.

Here are the “Tips for Learning” or “SLANT”:

  • Sit up
  • Lean forward
  • Ask questions
  • Nod your head
  • Talk to your teacher

Communication skills are an important part of entrepreneurship activities for students. Students need to ask questions, listen well, speak clearly and build trust with people around them.

Thanking and Apologising

students saying goodbye to leaders after Green SuperCamp
Flynn saying goodbye to new friends!

We also learnt the importance of thanking people and apologising. We were taught how to do this properly.

We call the steps to thanking “OTFD” or “Open The Front Door”.

Observation, Think, Feel, Desire

We call the steps to apologise “AAMR”, pronounced “A Mr!”

Acknowledge, Apologise, Make it Right, Recommit

Eight Keys of Success

Lastly, we were taught the “Eight Keys of Success”. These are the keys that keep you on course for success.

For each of these keys, we learn a different hand movement. This helps us remember them.

Here they are:

  1. Integrity
  2. Failure Leads to Success
  3. Speak With Good Purpose
  4. This Is It
  5. Commitment
  6. Ownership
  7. Flexibility
  8. Balance

Altogether, these keys are another example of entrepreneurship activities for students because they build the habits children need for leadership, responsibility and future enterprise.

Why These Experiences Matter

If you read this and think, “Nah… my child wouldn’t want to go to that camp!” think again.

Any child, from any place, no matter what, will want to go to GreenSuperCamp.

Thank you to my parents and camp sponsors for making it possible for me to attend Green SuperCamp. Thank you to my friends and new friends that supported me on camp.

Also, thank you to all the team leaders and facilitators who taught me all the tools I need for life. Lastly, thank you my team. GO TEAM H!

Thanks Amber for your reflection.

Jai, Kaitlin and Lachlan are currently on the Senior Green SuperCamp. You can also read Jai’s Green SuperCamp experience and Flynn’s Green SuperCamp reflection.

Kaitlin also shared why she wanted to attend the Green SuperCamp in Why Our Kids Wanted to Attend the Green SuperCamp.

Our “Teaching Your Kids To Achieve Success” series will continue with Part 3. You can also read Part 1 and Part 2.

Key takeaway: Entrepreneurship activities for students can include leadership camps, goal setting, teamwork, confidence building, communication skills and real-world challenges. Amber’s Green SuperCamp reflection shows how these experiences help children grow.

Where to Next?

If you enjoyed Amber’s Green SuperCamp reflection, you may also like:

Amber would love to hear your comments. Be sure to ask her some questions below.

Green School Bali Leading The Way!

Enterprise For KidsTeam Family Adventure & Real-World Learning, Mindset, Confidence & Leadership , , , , , , , , ,
Green School Bali real-world learning environment for kids

Green School Bali is an inspiring example of what education can look like when children are surrounded by nature, creativity, real-world learning and a strong sense of purpose.

Built from bamboo in the forest of Bali, this remarkable school challenges traditional thinking about education and invites us to ask an important question: are our schools truly preparing children for the modern world?

Green School Bali bamboo school building
Green School Bali is built from bamboo in a natural learning environment.

Green School Bali: A Different Vision for Education

Imagine a school with a natural, holistic, student-centred learning environment that empowers and inspires young people to be creative, innovative, green leaders.

There are many schools that aspire to a vision such as this, but very few achieve it. In all my years as a teacher, I know of only one school that has gained the genuine attention of educators and parents from around the world in quite this way.

This unique school is located in a forest on the island of Bali in Indonesia, and it is constructed largely from bamboo. You can learn more through the official Green School Bali website.

Green School Bali is an innovative school that is different in just about every aspect from regular Australian schools. It is different in its construction, the way it is run, its philosophy on raising and teaching children, and the way its curriculum is brought to life.

A Presentation That Challenged Our Thinking

Alan Wagstaff speaking about Green School Bali
Alan Wagstaff shared the Green School Bali philosophy.

Cathy, myself and our kids had the opportunity to attend an excellent presentation in Perth on Green School Bali. The principal, Mr Alan Wagstaff, showcased his school and shared their philosophy on education. He spoke with passion and with tremendous pride.

Rightly so. Green School Bali was turning many heads.

The founders of the school think way outside the box and have created a harmonious learning environment that children can excel in. They, and a growing group of others, believe this school offers a glimpse of what education could become in the future.

Perhaps the policy makers, politicians and leaders of our outdated education system should take a serious look at Green School Bali.

Why Green School Bali Matters for Entrepreneurial Kids

In previous articles, we have challenged the pedagogical practices of our current schooling system here in Australia. We have the view that it provides a good literacy education. However, the design of the system often conditions young people to be obedient, hard-working and compliant.

Now, that does not sound entirely bad. The world does need workers who can fill jobs and contribute well. However, what happens if a child wants to become an entrepreneur, innovator, creator or change-maker?

Many schools do not strongly foster true leadership, innovation or enterprise. Many schools also do not provide a strong financial education for kids, nor do they intentionally teach children to develop the habits and thinking of an entrepreneur.

This is why we care so deeply about raising entrepreneurial kids. Children need opportunities to think, question, create, solve problems and connect their learning to real life.

Cartoon about national testing and traditional schooling

Disengaged students in a traditional classroom
Disengaged students

Alan Wagstaff was also very direct about his views on the archaic education system currently running in Australia and other western societies. He pointed out many issues that should not be dismissed, and he backed his views with facts, figures and research conducted by qualified experts in education.

He cited the work of respected thinkers and authors such as Alfie Kohn and Stephen Covey.

What Makes Green School Bali So Special?

This quote by Michael Franti begins to paint a picture:

Green School Bali classroom made from bamboo
A Green School Bali classroom

“For anybody that’s considering sending your kid to school here, it’s different than other schools where your kid’s going to be assigned a number and a desk and you show up and you do exactly what you’re told. Here if you have an idea to do something that’s outside of the box, that idea is going to be fostered and nurtured rather than pushed down.”

– Michael Franti, poet, musician and activist

That is the kind of educational philosophy that speaks strongly to families who want children to grow as confident, creative and capable young people.

Student Engagement and Real-World Learning

Alan Wagstaff shared an interesting statistic about students in regular schools. He explained that many students over 11 years old are not fully engaged in their learning and do not really like school.

Many of these students feel they are learning irrelevant things that will not be useful when they leave school. We have heard similar comments from our own teenage children at times. I can also think back to much of the mundane content I had to master and be tested on as a high school student and then again at Teachers College. Much of it was of little use to me in what I do today.

Cartoon about testing and conditioning children

Alan said we need to change the structure of timetabling. We need to move from purely subject-based teaching to student-centred learning.

In many schools, the timetable revolves heavily around literacy and numeracy, with subjects such as the arts being pushed into the afternoon gaps. We push students in literacy and numeracy to uphold the education brand and satisfy national testing. The curriculum can become prescribed, inflexible and overly focused on measurement.

With all that emphasis on literacy and numeracy, why do we still have so many children not meeting the grade?

What Creates Life Success?

What is it about schooling that creates life success? The short answer is simple: have children turn up at school fully engaged, and you will get there.

Quote about outdated education systems

Therefore, we need children to be satisfied and engaged. Schools need to link students into life. Their learning needs to be realistic and relevant to each of them individually.

Every day, we should be academically upskilling children, but not simply comparing them with other children.

Parents should ask not only how their child compares with others, but what their child is actually learning.

How Green School Bali Teaches Children

Alan explained how they educate children at Green School Bali.

The programs are structured around themes. These are collaboratively planned by the teacher team leaders. Teachers then run proficiency lessons within these short-term themes.

Each student is shown the continuum of what they need to learn in different areas of the curriculum. From there, they work towards learning what they need at their own level. Over time, this helps children take responsibility for their own learning.

Green School Bali students learning in class
Green School Bali students learning through themes and real-world inquiry.

Within the broader themes, students follow their own individual interests. They develop ideas, and those ideas are fostered and expanded. They identify what they need to learn and then conduct investigations and study groups to understand and practise skills.

Every day, the children are engaged in practical lessons that challenge the Big Four: physical, emotional, intellectual and interpersonal learning.

For example, if the general theme was “Waves”, the Big Four might look like this:

  • Physical: Go and experience waves by surfing.
  • Emotional: Paint a wave or sing a wave melody.
  • Intellectual: Study wave formations.
  • Interpersonal: Sit by the waves and meditate.

At Green School Bali, there are no rigid timetables in the traditional sense. This allows themes to develop through what Alan described as dynamic chaos. Specialist teachers decide what will be done, teachers research the theme and subject areas, and students engage in proficiency lessons.

Authentic Learning Beyond the Classroom

Alan said that in order for students to learn something deeply, they must “hit it three times in three different ways during the week”. Mini themes develop within the bigger themes, and teachers help children self-manage their way through learning.

This leads to engagement and lifelong learning.

Opportunities are seized as they arise to provide practical real-life lessons in areas such as:

  • connecting to the real world
  • environmental education
  • health and wellbeing
  • performing arts
  • enterprise education
  • visual arts

These lessons are timed, sustainable, flexible and authentic. They happen by venturing beyond the school and accessing adults and resources in the enterprising world.

This connects strongly with the kind of family adventure and real-world learning that we value at Enterprise for Kids.

A School Designed for Engagement

Green School Bali’s aim is for children to want to go to school and to be fully engaged. The emphasis is on relevance to learning and valuing students, not on testing and comparing students as we often do in our current schooling system.

That comparison can put unnecessary pressure on children. A more meaningful goal is to help children discover what they are capable of and how their learning connects to life.

Green School Bali’s Bamboo Campus

Green School Bali bamboo architecture and campus
Green School Bali is known for its bamboo architecture and natural campus.

Green School Bali is an architectural masterpiece. It is a masterwork built of bamboo and mud brick. There are no traditional classroom walls and very little impact on the environment.

The school is designed to be sustainable, with power sourced from solar panels and hydro power from the river. Students also assist with growing food in the large permaculture garden where animals are kept.

Green School Bali gardens and campus fields
Gardens and campus fields at Green School Bali.

Surrounding the school are bamboo homes built by local and international families who choose to live in Bali so their children can attend the school.

At the time of this original article, there were also studios under construction to be leased cheaply to entrepreneurs, with the idea that students could be involved with these businesses. This would allow students to develop enterprise skills and ultimately learn how entrepreneurship works in the real world.

Green School Bali as an Example for the Future

Green School Bali is a real-life example of an exemplary school. Students attending the school were reported to be achieving outstanding results in many aspects of their development, including academics.

Although the school had only been running for a relatively short time when this original post was written, its first graduates were already graduating, and those choosing to do so were being accepted into universities around the world.

Green School Bali students learning in a natural environment
Green School Bali students learning in a natural environment.

Alan Wagstaff and the founders of the school had a vision to create change in how schools educate. They knew they would be challenged if they targeted the top of the education hierarchy in Australia, so they were working to make change from the bottom up.

One way they were doing this was by being an exemplary school and by being noticed. At the same time, Green School Bali was also training teachers on mainland Australia with Green School ideologies, with the hope that those teachers would make gradual changes in their own schools.

Green SuperCamp and Our Family’s Experience

Green SuperCamp Bali experience for kids
Green SuperCamp Bali gave our children a powerful learning experience.

Another way to have your children experience the Green School Bali philosophy is through Green SuperCamp.

Kaitlin, Jai and Flynn attended Green SuperCamp, and they came back transformed. At the time of this original post, we were working towards them attending again, along with our eleven-year-old daughter Amber.

You may like to read our earlier post about Green SuperCamp and our kids’ experiences there.

Flynn’s Green SuperCamp Reflection

Check out what Flynn had to say about Green SuperCamp:

John Hardy, Founder of Green School Bali

John Hardy, founder of Green School Bali, also spoke about the school at TED:

Key takeaway: Green School Bali shows what can happen when education becomes connected to nature, creativity, enterprise, sustainability and real-world learning. It challenges us to think more deeply about what children truly need in order to thrive.

Where to Next?

If you enjoyed this article about Green School Bali and real-world learning, you may also like:

Marketing Lesson for Kids: Burekup Country Club Heats Up

Enterprise For KidsTeam Family Enterprise Stories, Family Projects, Kids Business Ideas , , , , , , , , ,
Amber Flynn and Kit running a stall at the Burekup Country Fair as a marketing lesson for kids

Marketing lesson for kids sounds like something that belongs in a classroom, but for our family it came alive through fire, publicity, product preparation and the Burekup Australia Day Fair.

Last week there was both fear and excitement in the small township of Burekup. The Burekup Country Club had been on fire, and for a moment it looked as though the Burekup Australia Day Fair might even be cancelled. Thankfully, the fire crew put the fire out before it caused too much damage or anyone was hurt.

What followed became a very real lesson in marketing, attention and opportunity for our enterprising kids.

Amber showing her product during a marketing lesson for kids at the Burekup Country Fair
Amber showing one of her products ready for the Burekup Country Fair.

A Marketing Lesson for Kids at the Burekup Country Fair

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

This year, the fair had a little more publicity than normal.

The local Burekup Country Club, which helps organise the event, had a fire that threatened to burn down the old wooden clubhouse and town hall. The newspaper heard about the near disaster and ran a story about the fire that almost sabotaged the Burekup Australia Day Fair.

Burekup Country Club hall before the Australia Day Fair marketing lesson for kids
Burekup Country Club Hall.

The story stimulated fear and interest, which in turn created excellent publicity for the Burekup Fair.

Marketing a product, service or brand can be very challenging, especially if you are not naturally marketing savvy. A very good marketing campaign can sell even an ordinary product, while a very good product may not sell easily unless people know about it, understand it and feel interested enough to buy it.

That is why this became such a useful marketing lesson for kids. Our children were not just making products. They were preparing to put those products in front of real people.

What Our Kids Learned About Marketing Their Products

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 own products.

The Howitt family booked two stalls for the Burekup Australia Day Fair. One stall was for our enterprising kids to display and sell their products. The other was for Cathy and me to share information about our home business, as well as promote the Enterprise for Kids brand and blog.

Putting ourselves out there in our small community for the first time was a little confronting. Some people knew what we had been up to, but for many it was going to be a surprise.

Despite the challenge, we saw this as a chance to practise in readiness for bigger and better things to come.

Kids Business Ideas Prepared for the Burekup Fair

The fair gave each child a real opportunity to prepare, promote and sell something of their own. That is where a simple family event becomes powerful real-world learning.

Flynn had been preparing his raw, unprocessed honey under his brand, Howitt’s Honey. He had a fresh batch ready to sell, and he had also bought a good set of golf clubs for a very good price, which he intended to resell at the fair.

Flynn showing honey pots for his kids business idea at the Burekup Fair
Flynn showing his honey pots.
Honey jars bottled and ready for labels before the Burekup Country Fair
All bottled awaiting labels!

Kit and Chayse were preparing their lolly bag business. They bought, sorted and bagged lollies to sell. Chayse also had a small fish tank to sell, along with colourful guppies he had bred.

Kit and Chayse sorting lollies for a kids business idea at the Burekup Fair
Kit and Chayse sorting lollies.
Lolly bags ready to sell as part of a kids market stall
Lolly bags all set to be sold!

Amber’s Products and a Creative Marketing Lesson for Kids

Amber had been busy all year collecting succulents from people’s gardens. She artistically potted these up into all kinds of unusual pots, including large seashells, kettles and ceramic plant pots.

Amber watering succulents for her kids business idea at the Burekup Country Fair
Amber watering her succulents ready to be sold.

She and Flynn also planned to sell aquarium fish they had bred. They salvaged and cleaned large glass wine flagons, which made terrific fish bowls. They decided to market this product under the brand name “Fish in a Bottle”.

Fish in a Bottle product prepared for a marketing lesson for kids
Fish in a Bottle.
Fish in a Bottle product showing how kids can create unusual market stall ideas
Can you see the fish?

Amber also planned to sell selected items from her New from Old business, and she was putting together a Lucky Dip.

Jai and Kaitlin Prepare Their Own Enterprise Ideas

Jai was preparing to promote his “Hire a Teenager” service. He already had clients in Burekup who hired him to do work on their properties, such as mowing and window cleaning.

Jai also prepared a batch of frozen juice ice cups on sticks. He came up with some creative ideas to add value to his product. He was also considering promoting “Rent Exercise Equipment”, although this business idea was still in its infancy and may not have been quite ready to run.

Lastly, Kaitlin was preparing to promote her new brand, “Eye heART”. Akaisha was still a little young to have an enterprise of her own, but Kaitlin was ready to share her creative skills.

Being the creative one in the family, Kaitlin planned to sell her skills by painting the eye of clients from a photograph. Around the eye, she would also paint three things dear to them.

Jai showing icy poles prepared for the Burekup Country Fair market stall
Jai showing his icy poles.
Kaitlin's Eye heART creative business idea for kids
Kaitlin’s Eye heART.

This opportunity for us all to market our brands, services and products helped the Howitt clan develop self-efficacy around being entrepreneurial.

What Children Can Learn From a Real Marketing Plan

A good marketing lesson for kids does not need to be complicated. Children can begin by learning that marketing is about understanding who might want your product, why they might want it, and how you can show them its value.

The Australian Government’s business.gov.au marketing planning guidance explains that a marketing plan can help define a target market, choose messages and channels, set goals and evaluate whether marketing activities were successful. That is exactly the kind of thinking children can begin to practise with a simple market stall. Read more about developing a marketing plan here.

For our kids, the Burekup Fair raised practical questions:

  • Who would want to buy this product?
  • How should we display it?
  • What makes it interesting or different?
  • How much should we charge?
  • What story does the product tell?
  • How can we speak confidently to customers?

These questions are useful for any young entrepreneur.

Marketing, Emotion and Real-World Learning

Our mentor, Paul Counsel, had plenty to say about marketing. One of the ideas he shared was that people often respond to emotion before they respond to logic.

In simple terms, customers usually want to move away from a problem and toward a better result. A product, service or experience becomes more interesting when people can clearly see the difference it might make.

For children, this can be taught in a practical and age-appropriate way.

If they are selling honey, they can show that it is fresh, local and real.

If they are selling lolly bags, they can make them colourful, tidy and fun.

If they are selling succulents, they can show how each one has been creatively potted and cared for.

If they are selling a service, they can explain clearly how they can help someone.

This is where marketing becomes much more than advertising. It becomes communication.

A Fire, a Fair and a Marketing Lesson for Kids

Pain Island to Pleasure Island drawing used in a marketing lesson for kids
Just need the right ship to get them there!

Luckily, the fire did not burn down the club or spoil the Burekup Australia Day Fair.

But it certainly woke people up.

The fear that the fair might be cancelled created attention. The newspaper story created discussion. The near disaster gave people another reason to talk about the event. In an unexpected way, it became publicity.

That is not something anyone would wish for, of course. But it did show our kids something important: people pay attention when a story matters to them.

For our family, the fair became more than a day out. It became a real-world lesson in product preparation, branding, confidence, customer communication and marketing.

In our next blog, we will share photos and experiences from the Burekup Australia Day Fair.

Where to Next?

We would love to hear from our readers. What marketing lesson for kids have you seen through a school fair, market stall or family business idea? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Entrepreneurship for Students: How Do Entrepreneurs Think?

Enterprise For KidsTeam Mindset, Confidence & Leadership, Raising Entrepreneurial Kids , , , , , , , , ,
Jai Howitt discussing his entrepreneurial journey on The Pocket with Chris Griffen

Entrepreneurship for students is not just about starting a business. It is about learning how to think differently, spot opportunities, solve problems, take action and build confidence in the real world.

When children learn how entrepreneurs think, they begin to see that their ideas matter. They also begin to understand that money, work, creativity and contribution can be approached in a very different way.

Entrepreneurship for students shown through Jai Howitt coaching Chayse on business strategy
Jai coaching Chayse through business strategy and entrepreneurial thinking. Watch Jai coach Chayse.

Entrepreneurship for Students: How Do Entrepreneurs Think?

In an earlier article, we spoke of charitable entrepreneurs and successful business thinkers such as Richard Branson, Warren Buffett and John Templeton.

They, together with many other successful people, have extraordinary stories to tell about their entrepreneurial journeys. Some will tell you they struggled at school, dropped out, were dyslexic, or found reading and writing difficult. Others came from homes of poverty, while some were born into families where business and enterprise were already part of everyday life.

Although their backgrounds and circumstances differed, one thing often remained the same: they thought in a similar way.

It is not circumstance alone that creates an entrepreneur. It is mindset.

That is why entrepreneurship for students matters. Young people need more than information. They need the chance to develop the kind of thinking that helps them create opportunities, make decisions, solve problems and take responsibility for their future.

Why Entrepreneurial Thinking Matters for Families

What we have come to understand is that for our family to become economically and personally free, we need to question our conditioning around money and then reprogram our subconscious minds with a new success money mindset.

Many wealthy and successful people either developed this mindset from their upbringing, or they discovered it for themselves. Sometimes this happened consciously, through study and self-development. At other times, it happened unconsciously through experience, environment and action.

It is often said that only a small percentage of people live with real economic and personal freedom. The bigger question is this: what do they do differently?

More to the point: how do entrepreneurs think?

Before we look deeper into that, consider this.

Entrepreneurship for Students Starts with Money Mindset

Wealth creation and poverty mindset lesson for students
The way children think about money can shape the opportunities they see.

Whether we like it or not, we are being conditioned constantly to think a certain way about money. We are conditioned by our family, schools, advertising, politicians, television, social media and friends.

Many people become tied to jobs and debt because the conditioning they have received favours a money mindset of lack, rather than abundance.

Do any of the following sound familiar?

  • “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
  • “Money is the root of all evil.”
  • “You’ve got to work hard for your money.”
  • “Get a good, well-paying job and you’ll be set for life.”
  • “Buy a home, it will be your best investment ever.”
  • “We can’t afford it.”
  • “What job do you want to do when you grow up?”
  • “Go for the cheaper ones.”

Only this morning, I was listening to a friend talking with his teenage sons. He told them they needed to get jobs. He explained that he had a job pushing shopping trolleys at their age. He even went down to the local IGA supermarket and picked up applications for them to apply for jobs.

When I was fifteen, I started out with a casual job working at a Target store. My hourly rate was $2.90 an hour.

All of the above are examples of conditioning. Much of our thinking about money, work and possibility is formed very early in life.

What Schools Often Teach About Work and Money

Our schools are largely designed to prepare workers for the workforce. Banks make money by selling debt. Governments collect taxes and often depend on people staying within predictable systems. Retail businesses make money by encouraging us to spend. Big businesses need workers to build their businesses.

There is definitely a design to much of this madness.

That does not mean jobs are bad. It also does not mean every child needs to become a business owner. However, it does mean young people should know there are other pathways.

They should understand that work, money, creativity and contribution can be approached in different ways.

This is why financial education for kids is so important. Children need to learn about money, value, assets, liabilities, work, enterprise and choice before they enter adulthood.

Entrepreneurial Mindset for Young People

What our family has discovered is that our money mindsets are changing. We are learning that it is okay to accept money and to have money. In fact, it is okay to offer something of value to others and receive payment in return.

Working hard in a job is not the only pathway for young people entering our big world.

There are other ways. These pathways can allow young people to follow their passions and dreams while making a meaningful contribution to whatever they consider important.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if all our kids could achieve economic and personal freedom?

People who have achieved financial freedom through being entrepreneurial tend to have a mindset of abundance. Their habits differ. Their thinking differs. Their actions differ.

This is why we keep coming back to the bigger idea of raising entrepreneurial kids. It is not just about business. It is about helping children become confident, capable, creative and resourceful.

How Entrepreneurs Think: Lessons from Napoleon Hill

Napoleon Hill Think and Grow Rich entrepreneurial mindset lesson
Napoleon Hill studied how successful people think and act.

Rather than attempting to explain every detail of how entrepreneurs think, I will refer to one of the most influential books ever written on personal and financial achievement.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill was originally published in 1937. Hill spent his life studying successful people and recording how they think and act. He became successful himself by following the distinctions in his own book and by modelling himself on his mentors.

Think and Grow Rich is essentially a book about what to do and how to do it. It explores ideas such as self-direction, organised planning, autosuggestion, mastermind association, self-analysis and the selling of personal services.

The thirteen steps to riches described in the book offer a philosophy of individual achievement that has influenced thousands of people’s lives.

This book could be worth a great deal to you and your kids, not simply because of the money ideas, but because of the thinking behind them.

At the time of this original article, Cathy was rewriting Napoleon Hill’s book in a way that would be suitable for kids to read, with simple explanations and modern examples they could better relate to. It was a work in progress, built around the idea that children should be able to understand powerful success principles in language that makes sense to them.

You can also learn more about Napoleon Hill’s work through the Napoleon Hill Foundation.

Entrepreneurship for Students in Real Life

For our family, entrepreneurship for students has never been just a theory. It has been something we have tried to encourage through conversations, real-life projects, mentoring and practical action.

Looking back now, we can see how these early conversations about entrepreneurial thinking have carried through into real life. The goal was never just to teach our children about business. It was to help them become confident, resourceful young people who could spot opportunities, solve problems and take action.

Today, we see that continuing as Jai shares business ideas and strategy with his younger brother Chayse, passing on what he has learnt through his own entrepreneurial journey.

Jai has gone on to build his own entrepreneurial path through creative work, content and business. You can see part of that journey through Art of Mondays.

Key Takeaway: Teach Students to Think Like Entrepreneurs

Key takeaway: Entrepreneurship for students is about far more than making money. It is about helping young people think differently, understand value, recognise opportunity, solve problems and take action in the real world.

Where to Next?

If you enjoyed this article about entrepreneurship for students and entrepreneurial thinking, you may also like:

We would love to hear your thoughts. How do you think entrepreneurs think differently, and how can we help children develop that mindset while they are still young?

Financial Literacy for Teens: Jai and Kaitlin’s Enterprise Journey

Cathy and Trevor Family Enterprise Stories, Jai's Stories, Kaitlin's (Kat) Stories, Money Lessons for Kids , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jai and Kaitlin as young teens learning financial literacy through enterprise goals

Financial literacy for teens often becomes most powerful when it is connected to a real goal. For Jai, that goal was finding the money he needed for Country Week Soccer. For Kaitlin, it was learning how to manage her creative enterprise alongside study, sport, friends and teenage life.

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In this part of our family enterprise journey, Jai and Kaitlin remind us that teenagers do not always need another lecture about money. Sometimes they need a meaningful reason to take action.

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Akaisha as a toddler in a dog walking photo introducing financial literacy for teens through family enterprise stories
Enterprise lessons begin early in family life, but teenagers often need real goals before financial literacy truly comes alive.

Financial Literacy for Teens: Jai and Kaitlin’s Enterprise Journey

So far in our family enterprise journey, we have seen Flynn build a great honey enterprise and actually achieve his goal. Kit had a go at dog walking, but quickly realised that Chayse was making more money selling lollies at the local soccer fields, so he began pursuing that with his brother.

Kit and Chayse made quite a team, and we will revisit them again in another blog post. Amber also reached her goal with her “New from Old” endeavours, and we will celebrate her achievement separately too.

That leaves our creative artist, Kaitlin, and our budding app developer, Jai.

What has been interesting to notice on the children’s journeys is that it can be easier to introduce a different mindset around money to younger children than it is to teenagers or older children.

Why would financial literacy for teens be more challenging?

In our case, Kaitlin and Jai had already been around longer with us as their major source of education. That meant our own money thoughts, objections and subconscious beliefs had been absorbed by them for longer. It was now more of a process to help them question and reshape those beliefs.

Teenagers, Money Beliefs and Real-Life Goals

Kaitlin and Jai learning financial literacy for teens through youth enterprise goals
Kaitlin and Jai were learning that money goals need time, action and follow-through.

Luckily for us, Kaitlin and Jai are both quick learners and they understood the concepts we were trying to teach.

The main obstacle was finding the time to put this new knowledge into action.

Being teenagers, their lives were already full of homework, study, sporting commitments, social life and social media. All of these are things we wanted to encourage in our children, so our challenge was finding a way to include financial education without making it feel like one more burden.

In the end, as with many things, life became the best teacher of all.

Jai’s Teen Money Goal for Country Week Soccer

Jai setting teen money goals as part of financial literacy for teens
Jai’s focus changed when he had a real money goal to reach.

Jai had not had much urgency to pursue his app development because there was no clear timeline attached to his goal. His app idea was exciting, but it was also a long-term project.

Then his goal changed.

Jai was accepted into the Country Week Soccer team and would be competing in Perth during the holidays. He had to pay for a good portion of the trip himself.

Suddenly, he had a renewed vision and a very real money goal to aim for.

He spent countless hours researching ways to make the money in a short amount of time. This is where his youth enterprise thinking kicked into action.

Jai using enterprise ideas to help pay for his Country Week Soccer goal
Jai loves being active, and Country Week gave him a goal worth working for.

He came up with different ways to make the money, including some ideas he had not been interested in before.

The opportunities Jai looked at included:

  • mowing lawns in the neighbourhood,
  • finding good-quality items to sell,
  • hiring out exercise equipment,
  • negotiating paid jobs around the house that were above and beyond normal chores.

Together, Jai and Trevor worked out that he needed to find about $10 a day to afford his portion of the trip. That made the goal feel clearer and more achievable.

He began negotiating with us over jobs that needed doing around the house, and then he got on with them.

He also went through many of his good-quality items that had once been “must haves” when he bought them. He realised that perhaps he did not need them as much as he first thought, so he posted them on Facebook to sell.

What Jai Learnt About Financial Literacy for Teens

Jai’s Country Week goal became a practical financial literacy lesson. Instead of simply asking for money, he had to think about earning, selling, negotiating, time, effort and priorities.

He also had to work out the difference between a long-term enterprise idea and a short-term money need.

Although Jai’s app development journey had taken a back seat, it had not been forgotten. He simply recognised that app development was a longer-term project, while his Country Week Soccer goal needed faster action.

That is an important financial literacy lesson for teenagers. Not every money-making idea suits every goal. Sometimes a teen needs quick cash flow. Other times, they need patience, skill-building and a longer timeline.

We were proud of Jai’s efforts and were confident he would reach his goal in time.

Kaitlin’s Creative Enterprise and Time Management

Kaitlin painting as part of her creative enterprise and financial literacy for teens journey
Kaitlin doing what she loves — using her creative skill as a possible enterprise.

Kaitlin, our artist in residence, was also learning an important financial literacy lesson.

Her lesson was not only about how to make money. It was about how to manage her energy, time and priorities around study, social life, sport and her youth enterprise ventures.

Kaitlin had already explored the idea of turning her artistic skill into a student enterprise. You can read more about that earlier stage in Kaitlin’s portrait drawing enterprise.

Now she had a timeline in place and was receiving more requests for artwork. That meant she had to begin each piece early enough to finish it before Christmas for some customers, and earlier for others.

This was a different kind of money lesson. Kaitlin had to connect creativity with responsibility. If people were asking her to create artwork, she needed to protect the time and energy required to deliver it properly.

Teenage Distractions and Self-Efficacy

Kaitlin learning time management and self efficacy as a teenager with enterprise goals
Kaitlin and Lachlan.

Having a boyfriend actually increased Kaitlin’s self-efficacy because she needed to complete certain things before socialising.

Luckily, Lachlan encouraged Kaitlin to do that, because he actually wanted to have a social life too!

This connects beautifully with the lesson we explored later in Kaitlin’s article about avoiding distractions and following through on her enterprise goals.

For teenagers, financial literacy is not only about budgets and bank accounts. It is also about self-management. It is about learning that if you want to earn money through your skills, you need to manage your time, energy, focus and commitments.

Creative Enterprise with Kaitlin and Georgia

Kaitlin and Georgia exploring creative enterprise and real-world learning as teenagers
Kaitlin and Georgia exploring ideas, creativity and enterprise.

Kaitlin and her friend Georgia were also realising the power of leveraging their time.

They had come up with some great enterprise ideas and had put steps in place to pursue them. These were longer-term goals, but in the end they could reap more rewards than simply working a job.

At the same time, they still saw the need to pursue their jobs in the meantime, so they could have money to put towards their enterprise when it was up and running.

This is another important financial literacy lesson for teens: sometimes a job and an enterprise can work together.

A job can create cash flow. An enterprise can create ownership, learning, creativity and possibility. Both can play a role while a teenager is learning how money, work and opportunity connect.

Financial Literacy for Teens Happens Through Real Life

The journey towards financial freedom is always a rocky one, but it is one worth following regardless of what else is going on in life.

Our kids are teaching us so much along the way. Not all of their efforts are successful, but they are learning from each experience and moving forward.

That is what makes real-world learning so powerful.

Jai’s story shows how a clear money goal can turn a teenager into a problem-solver. Kaitlin’s story shows how creativity, customers and deadlines can teach responsibility and time management.

Neither of those lessons can be fully taught from a worksheet.

They are lived.

Where Jai and Kaitlin Are Today

Looking back 14 years later, it is beautiful to see how these early enterprise lessons continued to show up in Jai and Kaitlin’s lives.

Jai’s early interest in app development, problem-solving and online enterprise has grown into his current business, Art of Mondays. It is a wonderful example of how early exposure to enterprise, technology and financial literacy can keep developing over time.

Kaitlin’s creativity and interest in bringing ideas to life has also continued. You can see a glimpse of what she is creating now through Kaitlin’s Golden Days Club.

At the time, these teenage money goals may have looked like small family lessons. But years later, they remind us that children and teenagers are often building foundations long before we can see the full picture.

Key Takeaway: Financial Literacy for Teens Needs Real Goals

Key takeaway: financial literacy for teens becomes more meaningful when teenagers have real goals. Jai needed money for Country Week Soccer, while Kaitlin needed to manage creative requests and deadlines. Through youth enterprise, they learnt money skills, focus, responsibility and real-world problem-solving.

Where to Next?

What real goal could help your teenager learn more about money, responsibility and enterprise?

Young Australian Entrepreneurs: Lessons from Dale Beaumont

Cathy and Trevor Mindset, Confidence & Leadership , , , , , , , , , , ,
Dale Beaumont presenting at Business Blueprint as an example of young Australian entrepreneurs

Young Australian entrepreneurs can be powerful role models for children. When kids see real people building businesses, creating freedom and using their success with purpose, enterprise becomes much more than an idea in a book.

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Dale Beaumont is one of those examples. His story reminded us that who we spend time with, who we learn from and who we allow to influence our thinking can shape what we believe is possible.

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Dale Beaumont as a young entrepreneur inspiring enterprising kids
Dale Beaumont began his entrepreneurial journey young, making his story a powerful example for enterprising kids.

Young Australian Entrepreneurs: Lessons from Dale Beaumont

Part of what we love about this blog is that we get to share the success of young entrepreneurs with not only our readers, but also our kids.

As we have been learning through Paul Counsel’s course, and as Dale Beaumont also reinforced for us, who you “hang with” is often who you become like.

That can be a scary thought, or it can be an inspiring thought, depending on your peers and the people you spend the most time with.

Luckily, we have wonderful family and friends. But for us, it is also important to include people who have achieved success in areas where we are still learning and growing.

Some of our family and friends fulfil those needs, but a sure way of increasing self-efficacy for us and our kids is to mix with other successful entrepreneurs, business owners and people who think differently.

Dale Beaumont as a Young Australian Entrepreneur

Dale Beaumont Secrets Exposed Series as an example of young Australian entrepreneurs creating books and business education
Dale Beaumont wrote the Secrets Exposed series.

Dale Beaumont is one such inspiring young Australian entrepreneur. He may not see himself as “young” anymore, but his success started at the tender age of 19.

Before developing his entrepreneurial skills, Dale was an accomplished gymnast and probably what many people would call an overachiever.

When Dale was 19, he co-authored a book called The World at Your Feet, which became the basis of his successful program, Tomorrow’s Youth. Through that program, he taught young people essential life skills.

From there, Dale went on to publish books, build relationships with other successful entrepreneurs, business owners and thought leaders, and eventually develop Business Blueprint.

His journey is a wonderful example for children because it shows that enterprise can begin young. It also shows that success is rarely about one single moment. It is built through learning, relationships, systems, action and persistence.

What Young Australian Entrepreneurs Teach Our Kids

One of the biggest lessons Dale Beaumont’s story teaches our children is that entrepreneurship is not just about making money.

It is about learning how to think. It is about developing skills, building useful systems, creating value, managing time, solving problems and making choices that can lead to more freedom.

Dale Beaumont with his family showing family freedom through entrepreneurship
Dale with one of his children.
Dale Beaumont and his wife travelling as a result of business systems and financial freedom
Inside the Sistine Chapel.

Dale is married and has two boys, and one of the things that really appealed to Trevor and me was that his focus was not only on business growth. It was also on creating time and freedom to travel with his young family.

He was able to do this because he had built systems within his business so that everything could keep ticking along with or without him.

You can imagine how appealing that was to us.

We did not want business success that simply created another job. We wanted to learn how business could create choice, flexibility and meaningful family experiences.

Lessons from Business Blueprint

I will not go through the whole workshop that my good friend Sally and I attended in Perth, but I do want to share a few highlights that really stuck with me as Dale spoke.

Dale Beaumont presenting at Business Blueprint as an example of young Australian entrepreneurs
Presenting at Business Blueprint.

Two sayings that stood out were:

“Empty bank accounts don’t feed the people.”

“The poor can’t help the poor.”

Those two sayings alone say a lot.

Some people want money purely for money’s sake — to have nice things and show others how well they are doing. Others want money so they can enjoy wonderful experiences, support their family, do good things in the world and make a difference in the lives of others.

We fall into that second category.

Dale’s example helped reinforce something important for our family: money with purpose can become a tool for freedom, contribution and service.

Money, Purpose and Making a Difference

One thing we found inspiring was Dale’s support for Hands Across the Water in Thailand. It was powerful to see an entrepreneur using his success and influence to make a difference in the lives of children.

This is an important message for enterprising kids.

We do not want our children to think that business is only about making money. We want them to understand that business can also create choices, opportunities and the ability to contribute.

That idea connects beautifully with our own reflections on whether having a money mindset can also be charitable.

The Internet Changed Business Forever

New Rules of Business seminar showing how the internet changed business for young Australian entrepreneurs
New Rules of Business seminar.

The internet has changed business forever.

If we do not embrace that change, our businesses can get left behind. A classic example was the way physical bookstores were challenged as online bookselling grew rapidly.

The point for our children is clear: the business world they are growing into is very different from the business world we grew up in.

Today’s young people need to understand technology, online marketing, digital systems, automation, websites, customer service, communication and content.

They do not need to master all of these skills as children, but they do need to grow up with the mindset that learning never stops.

The Coffin or the Hourglass

Dale shared something he learnt when he was just starting out in business.

He called it the coffin or the hourglass.

The coffin or the hourglass business planning model taught by Dale Beaumont
The Coffin or the Hourglass.

Many people starting in business spend more time taking action than they do strategising or planning where they want their business to end up.

Taking action is important, of course. But you do not want your business to be like a coffin, where little time is spent thinking, planning and designing the right direction, while heaps of time is spent taking action that may not be very fruitful.

The hourglass, on the other hand, is about putting time into planning, strategising and thinking first.

With well thought-out plans in place, the action you take becomes more focused and the results are more fruitful.

So what would you prefer? A business with the coffin model, or one with the hourglass model?

Young Australian Entrepreneurs Need Systems

I think one of the reasons Dale became successful in a relatively short period of time was his ability to let go of things that could be done by someone else and focus on the things he needed to do to be effective within his business.

That is a major lesson for young Australian entrepreneurs.

Hard work matters, but systems matter too.

Business owners who try to do absolutely everything themselves can quickly become exhausted. Systems help free up time, improve consistency and allow business owners to focus on the areas where they can create the most value.

In the original version of this article, we talked in detail about a particular automation and CRM system we had started using at the time. Years later, the exact tools have changed, but the lesson remains the same.

Business systems can help with:

  • email follow-up,
  • customer records,
  • online payments,
  • memberships or subscriptions,
  • event management,
  • task management,
  • marketing follow-up,
  • and website processes.

The specific software will keep changing, but the mindset is timeless: build systems that help your business run more smoothly.

You can learn more about Dale Beaumont and his business education work through Business Blueprint.

What This Means for Enterprising Kids

So, how does all of this relate to enterprising kids?

For any business our kids choose to start, using the internet will be a given, especially as they grow into young adults.

If we want our kids to be competitive in today’s markets, we need to show them the way by continuing to learn ourselves.

They will follow our lead. They will absorb whether we are curious, whether we keep improving, whether we look for better systems and whether we are willing to adapt.

We want our children to have a mindset that says:

Get savvy. Learn. Improve. Keep going.

Bedtime Reading for Enterprising Kids

Chayse holding business books as bedtime reading for enterprising kids
Bedtime reading for enterprising kids.

Generation Y and the generations after them are already building and creating things that improve efficiency in their lives.

Why spend six hours on something if you can learn how to streamline it and do it in one?

That is the world our children are growing into.

We agree completely that life is not meant to be all about work. We want to work to live, not live to work, and we want our kids to understand that concept too.

At the same time, we want them to know that learning from successful entrepreneurs can expand their thinking.

Books, mentors, workshops, conversations and real-world examples can all help children see what is possible.

We no longer need a long list of affiliate-linked books here. The bigger message is simply this: expose children to inspiring people and ideas, then help them apply those ideas in age-appropriate ways.

Key Takeaway: Young Australian Entrepreneurs Can Inspire Kids

Key takeaway: young Australian entrepreneurs like Dale Beaumont can help children see what is possible. When kids are exposed to mentors, business systems, purpose-driven money lessons and real-world learning, they begin to understand that enterprise can create freedom, contribution and choice.

Where to Next?

Who are your children learning from, and what kind of thinking are those influences helping them develop?