F rom adolescent inventors to teenage tech founders to the neighborhood kid with a power washer, it seems like young entrepreneurs are popping up everywhere these days. In fact, according to research from Junior Achievement USA and Ernst & Young LLP, 41% of teens say they’d like to start their own business instead of working in a traditional job. Other surveys have found that as many as 75% of young people are interested in entrepreneurship. If you have a budding business owner in your home, you may find yourself both in awe of their ambition - and uncertain of how best to support them. Here are some tips from teachers, mentors and kids themselves about how parents can be their children’s greatest ally as they transform the family room into the board room. IT STARTS with an IDEA Kids are natural creative thinkers, dreaming up inventive solutions for the world around them. Sarah Sleevi leads the all-girls Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) at Female Strong. She emphasizes the importance of “the ideation phase,” where students identify pain points in their lives and try to come up with solutions. “It doesn’t matter how small—it just needs to be an issue that people face,” Sleevi explained.
Bob Bollweg, who teaches the entrepreneurship class “Startup U” at New Trier High School, has a similar process. His students create a “Bug Me List,” a collection of everyday annoyances, and then choose one issue and brainstorm solutions. Our children are more adept at identifying problems and solutions than we often give them credit for. As parents, we tend to problem-solve for them, but it’s important to allow young entrepreneurs to take responsibility. Parents can help by prompting kids and keeping the conversation going, but let their idea be their idea.
MENTORSHIP is PARTNERSHIP
Once your child has a solid idea, the next step is mentorship. In Bollweg’s class, each group of student-entrepreneurs is paired with a volunteer mentor from outside of New Trier. Clara Crossgrove, a senior in Bollweg’s class, worked with fellow students Kelsea Banh, Ricki Viner, and Leila Heitner to develop a healthy edible bark called Positive Snacks. “Our mentor gave us really helpful tips on presentation, branding, and even pricing,” Crossgrove said.
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