Prashant Pundir
Need for Entrepreneurial Mindset in Teens
In today’s day and age, the significance and the role that entrepreneurship plays in our society has widely been recognized. The importance of having an entrepreneurial mindset is immense and those who possess entrepreneurial skills find themselves punching above their weights in today’s demanding world. The question is, how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset?
Entrepreneurship is no longer simply related to business, but it has turned itself into a life skill to be inculcated in young children and teenagers. Entrepreneurship not only helps in developing shrewd mindsets but also promotes positive life skills, innovation, and obviously profit.
Source: Oberlo
Entrepreneurship education is gaining rapid momentum in schools as it caters to bring in a positive influence on employment opportunities and economic growth. Therefore, the need for an entrepreneurial mindset in teens has become very crucial and fundamental.
What is an Entrepreneurial Mindset?
Our viewpoint of ourselves and our surroundings shapes our dreams. In today’s modern society, employment opportunities are flexible and challenging, everything is constantly evolving, which demands our youth to possess a well-equipped skillset to recognize opportunities, take on challenges, and put forward their innovations.
An entrepreneurial mindset is fluid artistry comprising skills, which allow people to make the most of the opportunities, conquer disappointments and succeed in unfamiliar settings and environments. It is not only vital for new businesses but is also valued by employers and boosts educational performance.
Below is a chart that highlights the level of entrepreneurial mindset characteristics in the SME sector –
Source: Research Gate
Entrepreneurial Mindset for Teens
Entrepreneurial education is an asset for children and teens. It should be inculcated in the student curriculum from an early age and progressing through all levels of education. This ensures a lifelong learning process for students.
“Children already think like entrepreneurs – when you provide them with a tool or toy and don’t tell them how to use it, the ingenuity and creativity of how they use it is striking,” said Anna Burrell, founder, and CEO of Twiggs & Co., a small business consultancy firm.
“Children do this intuitively when they are super young, but when they get to the age of 6 or 7, like my child, they’ll say things like, ‘Oh, I’m stupid,'” said Catie Harris, founder of NursePreneurs.
Parents and educational institutions have to share the responsibility and workload of creating an entrepreneurial mindset in teenagers.
To make parents’ lives easier, Moonpreneur has come up with Moonpreneur, a fantastic fun-learning and modern-day business strategy board game which portrays a simulation of real-life, new-age business environments. Challenge your abilities to know whether you have entrepreneurial instinct and vision. Enjoy hours of gameplay and engaging family time with Moonpreneur.
The Importance of an Entrepreneurial Mindset
Can a teenager be an entrepreneur? The answer is an absolute yes.
Teenage entrepreneurs who boast of an entrepreneurial skillset thrive more in both personal and professional life. Various skills such as resilience, self-dependency, confidence, and enthusiasm lead to a dosage of happiness at work and at home.
Let’s further delve into the subject – what is an entrepreneurial mindset and what does it have to offer? With an entrepreneurial mindset, one is more likely to take up challenges and opportunities and not be afraid of taking risks whenever required. Understanding your own persona and belief system and being able to present it, as well as listen to the opinion of others leaves an impression on colleagues. It is an important trait that comes with having an entrepreneurial mindset.
Enthusiasm is another trait that leads to more social interaction and doesn’t allow one to feel disappointed very quickly. It can help create more opportunities and build healthy relationships in the workplace.
Overall, with an entrepreneurial mindset, teenagers can turn even the bleakest of situations into positive ones with the ingrained ability to look for a light at the end of the tunnel.
“Entrepreneurs are not superheroes with special powers; they’re just ordinary people who were so passionate about seeing something new in the world that they couldn’t wait any longer for it to be created – they had to take action themselves,” said Rob Kingyens, founder and CEO of Yellowbrick, which partners with universities and media companies to create online courses around “passion industries like fashion, music, and sneaker trade.
If a teenager is passionate and curious enough, he will somehow manage to find his own path. That’s entrepreneurialism in a nutshell.
How Do I Raise an Entrepreneurial Teenager?
Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset in teenagers is an immense task but certainly achievable.
1. Model Business Behaviour
There are so many life skills we teach our children to help them function well in society. These skills can be kindness, patience, decency, diligence, and many more.
We also use sophisticated language in order to be a good vocal influence on our children. Similarly, it is critical to invite teens into our lives and expose them to business behaviour. You can talk business with them.
Discuss the cost and the running expenses of your business, various business models and research and share good ideas on business activities. This will lay the foundations for an entrepreneurial mindset and help them to acquire business acumen.
2. Encourage Creativity and Personal Experiences
Encourage your teenager to look beyond the obvious options and look for creative outlets and solutions to earn extra pocket money. Teens can indulge with small business programmes to gain experience and be a part of a community that is moving towards success.
Today’s dreary schedule doesn’t allow children to indulge in entrepreneurial activities, but this is the hurdle we need to overcome. Entrepreneurs need to be creative.
3. Develop a Growth Mindset
Today’s requirement is that our abilities become fluid and malleable and not stagnant. Growth mindset has become an important asset in educational settings. It’s not about “I can’t do it”, but more about “I can’t do it now, but with perseverance and support I will.”
Entrepreneurs need to be flexible from the start and learn from their experiences. This helps in turning around a dire situation into a suitable one. Parents can encourage teens to solve the many daily-life problems in creative spaces and praise them for their efforts. It only takes a leap of faith to change a person.
Source: fs blog
4. Embrace Failure
Those who see failure as a part of life are able to enjoy the sweet rewards. However, even small failures can devastate a teenager. That’s where the parents’ need to step in and make them understand that failure isn’t necessarily a bad thing but a learning curve.
A lot of great innovations have come out of persistent failures. As long as you follow the right process with the right intent, it is all good. The result will take care of itself and will be in your favour sooner rather than later.
5. Call in the Community
It is important for teenagers to connect with their surroundings and communicate with people who share a similar line of interest. Sustainable support and encouragement help teens in strengthening their ideas and turn them into reality. Having network support to provide backing, guidance and reflection are very important.
This is what parents can do. Provide their best possible support and enthusiasm to their teens and build a like-minded environment around them. Teens need to know that their parents have their backs.
Do you want to help your child excel in entrepreneurship?
Here at Moonpreneur, we have a program to do just this. We prepare children to face the challenges of tomorrow and become leading pioneers and entrepreneurs. The nature of the workforce is changing rapidly and technology will play a pivotal role in the future. This is the time to provide our children with the right skill set and make them future-ready.
Our Innovator Program helps cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset which will be critical for the future of work. Teenagers learn various aspects of entrepreneurship that are needed to start and grow a successful business. Sign up for the Innovator Program today!
