Tag Archives: web entrepreneur

Raising Savvy Business Kids

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Flash to the Past

When I was growing up, my dad wanted me to get a college degree so that I wouldn’t follow in his footsteps by creating my own small business like he did (and my grandfather too).  Sadly, I was not destined to be a savvy Business kid…

Both my dad and grandfather had fairly successful businesses (my dad still have his business, my grandfather has past away).  They were trying to save me from the hours they put in to grow their businesses.  I remember my dad, looking at blueprints during basketball games down in a recreation room many a night!

Flash Forward

I’m doing the opposite with my kids!  I’m actually trying to raise my kids as Savvy Business Kids!

I decided to change direction from my dad because the company employee paradigm from his era no long applies today!  Company loyalty (while still may exist at a very small subset of companies), is going the same way of company pensions, they are becoming nonexistent…, extinct…, dust in the wind…

So what have I done to help my kids become business savvy?

  • I started introducing basic math early, especially getting them to recognize which coins had more value!
  • I bought a game called “Cash Flow For Kids” and to give them an incentive to play, I embellished the game for doing the following.  If they won, I paid them whatever they would spin on a spin dial.  the had the opportunity to win a 25 cents, 50 cents, 1 dollar, 2 dollars or 5 dollar.  So far, I’ve been luck and they haven’t won the highest amount yet ($5.oo).
  • I started an eBay business with my son so he could learn that it’s possible to make money at an early age.   Ironically, this ended up working really well for me too!  We were able to buy a product from a supplier and sell the item on eBay at a pretty decent markup.  It was a good experience for the both of us (the taxes did sucked though).
  • We put prices on their toys and sold them in garage sales.
  • They would occasionally put up a lemonade stand.
  • My son has a deal with my dad to mow my parent’s lawn.  This actually works out great because he gets paid for mowing, but plays for a bit on the riding lawnmower at the same time (it’s a win-win).
  • My son has expressed an interest in selling some of his Pokémon cards on eBay.  We will start this adventure next!
  • ICarly has inspired son to think about blogging, but we haven’t done anything yet because he’s got too much going on as is.
  • My daughter has created drawings for sale (most of which my wife and I bought), and also had her own lemonade stands.

I’m hoping that the small business experiments that I’ve been working on with them will help in the future!  I think the lessons in investing and some small business exposure will help them see opportunities that others might miss in the future!

Do you think I’m trying too hard?  Do you have any suggestions? 

I’m an employee, so any suggestions would be appreciated from any small business folks out there!

-MR

We Aren't We All Small Business Owners?

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Why Not?

With cheap computers and computing services, why aren’t we all entrepreneurs? 

Ten years ago, computers were still pretty expensive, but I thought if they become cheaper, I’d become an entrepreneur.  I noticed that there are now a few of businesses that have been created since then, filling some of my ideas, but there are still opportunities!  

I have to wonder if the bursting of the  dot-com bubble  scared away most of us from trying that medium?  Perhaps after seeing the death of so many online business, the population in general, believe that it’s an impossible way to make money?  If so, this is sad, especially today!  

There is so many almost free computing options out there for entry into the online (aka dot-com) arena.  Computer themselves have become practically commodities, hosting services are very cheap, free software has some rock solid products (like wordpress, ubuntu/linux, php, mysql, apache, open office, etc) and there are even a few free DNS (domain name service) provider that will handle your site name to ip address conversion for free (like ZoneEdit.com). 

Okay, typing that last sentence, I realize that there is still a technical barrier to overcome, but it’s not that bad!  Plus, I’m sure there are great tutorials and online blogs and other documentation sources to help people get past that technical hump. 

I don’t think you need to strive to be the next eBay, but why not give it a shot, especially in today’s job market?  I think if I recently graduated from college, and was having a hard time finding a job, I would look hard and long at trying to create an online business on a shoestring budget while looking for employment in parallel!  If you don’t want to be bothered by the techy stuff, go in with a few partners, maybe a techie like me and an accountant.  Even if it’s not highly successful, wouldn’t it look cool on your resume?  Plus, you could even demonstrate your website to your potential employer. 

The key is to try to innovate, expand your presence in the world.  Even if your business flops, it would be cool to tell your kids that you were  once a web entrepeneur in your day 😉 

-MR