Encouraging Kids to Be Entrepreneurs

My son came up with another clever business idea, where he decided to create a comic club that would sell comic strips.  He decided that he would recruit his friends, and they would all draw comics and sell comic strips.  So they created a series of 8 episodes and were able to sell them to few of the surrounding neighborhood kids.

My 6-year-old daughter saw what was happening, so she and one of her friends started another comic club too.  My daughter has been writing books (8 pages long) since she was 4, so she could really crank these out fast!  But instead of trying to sell the comic strips to kids, my daughter went after the market segment called “my wife and I” (and the grandparents) as potential buyers.  Now there is no way I could turn down my daughter so I bought 6 comic for a quarter a piece.  My wife bought some too.  All said and done, sa far she has made $4.00 on selling comic strips that she creates.  not to bad for a 6-year-old!

I felt bad about my son because he wasn’t make as much, and they put a lot of effort into the comic strips.  I was going to ask him if I could buy some, but he beat me to the punch and asked me if I would be interested in buying some.  I happily said “yes”.

The beauty of my son’s sales proposition, is that he realized that he was missing a potential market and adjusted his sales techniques.  I’m happy because he came to that conclusion by his own thought process instead of me twisting him into thinking that way.

What Did My Son Learn

I’m not sure if he realized it or not, but he learned quite a bit about marketing!  If you don’t ask, nobody’s going to come to you for it.  He also learn to adjust this sales tactics to reach a broader market.

What Did I Learn From My Daughter

Some times people are just naturals.  My daughter knew that her mom and dad were excellent candidates for buying the comics, so she jumped on the opportunity with enthusiasm and determination.  She really sounded like a sales person!  I was floored again!

Maybe I over-analyze my kids, but they are awesome to watch! 

Do you have kids (or have similar relatives) where you have seen the lightbulb go on, extra bright? 

-MR