2269: How to Turn Your 12 Year Old Into an Entrepreneur by James Altucher on Parenting Advice

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[00:00:32] How to Turn Your 12 Year Old Into an Entrepreneur by James Altucher of Jamesaltucher.com Hello everybody and happy Thursday. I'm Greg Audino and just like on every other Thursday and Friday, I'm here today to read parenting content for you.

[00:00:48] This one has a little bit of a business twist to it as well. How can we teach our kids to be entrepreneurs? Or at least introduce them to the idea of it. And of course I'll talk more about it in my commentary after the reading.

[00:01:01] So for now let's hear James' words of wisdom as we optimize your life. How to Turn Your 12 Year Old Into an Entrepreneur by James Altucher of Jamesaltucher.com One of the most pleasurable days of my life was when my kids picked out items they wanted to sell,

[00:01:21] put price tags on them, painted signs that they then copied at a copy store and then hung them all over town. And then bargained, negotiated and made deals left and right until the front of our lawn was empty of all the items they wanted to sell.

[00:01:37] Every kid needs entrepreneurial experience. The feeling that you create something powerful enough that people pay money for it. It's exhilarating and inspires growth in so many ways. But it's not about reading or studying or being smart or even providing a good role model.

[00:01:53] The only way your kid will be an entrepreneur is if he or she starts today. Keep it simple. Here are some businesses they can start right now. Idea number one, the lawn store.

[00:02:06] A, tell them to find 10 to 50 things in their bedroom closet that they would be willing to sell. And believe me they have those items. B, pick a day to do a garage sale.

[00:02:18] C, have them make the signs for that sale and then they should hang them up all over town. Teach them how to be marketers with these signs. They should be as salesy and noticeable as possible.

[00:02:29] D, tell them to call all their friends to come over for the garage sale with their parents. E, they should organize the items by category. Make them really think about the shopping experience as people mill through the items.

[00:02:43] And F, have them be the salesperson at their garage sale. Negotiate every deal. Repeat one month later and see how they've learned from the experience. Maybe add a new twist. See if any local stores want to donate items. You can donate the proceeds to charity.

[00:03:00] Having quality store items will add value to your kids' items. Have your kids do all the bookkeeping. Understand which category sold best and to what types of customers. Did kids buy or parents? Serve coffee so parents can chat and drink while their kids shop.

[00:03:16] An entire book can be written about kids' garage sales. And after sale number two, have the kids brainstorm about how sale number three can be even better. Idea number two, newspaper. Have them make a newspaper of all local news.

[00:03:32] Sales at local stores, news from neighbors, real estate news, etc. Have them sell the newspaper door to door. Make sure they do at least two editions before they lose interest. On the second edition, they can get sponsors from local stores. Idea number three, niche blog.

[00:03:50] Make it a niche blog or newspaper. All the real estate sales and prices in the past six months in your area. They can get the data from the local city clerk. Real estate agents can sponsor the blog if it gets traffic.

[00:04:03] They can make flyers if they drop off at every house. Check out local trends and real estate values at this blog, etc. Include their cute picture on the flyer. Idea number four, be a consultant. Go up and down Main Street in your town with your kids.

[00:04:19] Tell them to come up with three ideas for how each store can attract more customers or improve your business. Then have your kid go inside and make an appointment with the owner to share the ideas.

[00:04:29] For a regular fee or free cookie, your kid should offer to come back and give you more advice. I know this sounds above and beyond what store owner would care what a kid has to say. But it is a valuable experience for the kids.

[00:04:42] Overcomes shyness, talking to adults, makes them think as a business person thinks. But you never know. Could be a good source of free cookies at the local cookie store. I've done this with my kids since they were five years old

[00:04:56] and they've successfully predicted quite a few local bankruptcies. Most notably the business Balls & Dolls, a store that did exactly what it said. They sold balls like soccer balls and dolls for the kid's sisters of the boys who wanted to buy soccer balls. Idea number five, Blogmaster.

[00:05:15] Help other kids set up their first blogs. Charge a small fee. First of course your kid should set up their own blogs. What's their favorite topic? Upload a picture, start blogging.

[00:05:27] Post on other blogs often enough that they can then feel comfortable putting links in their comments back to their own blog, etc. Once your kid has become comfortable with the blog space, make a little brochure, print business cards and help other kids set up their blogs.

[00:05:42] Idea number six, they write a book. 100 ways 12 year old kids can start businesses and they sell it via Google Ads. And idea number seven, Stock Market. Give them 100 bucks. Tell them they can pick 10 stocks, $10 each. The stock picks have to come from their personal experience.

[00:06:01] DIS vs CBS for instance. And they need to diversify. Media, clothes, food, etc. Hedge their bets by shorting SPY. Tell them you'll split the profits with them each week. They must have three bullet points per pick

[00:06:18] and they need to list also what could go wrong with the investment. They need to report back each day how their investments are doing. Not every kid would want to do these ideas. There has to be a passion underneath.

[00:06:30] If you want more ideas let me know I have some. Note I think that learning by watching you is not a good way to get them to be an entrepreneur. They don't need role models now, they need to just do it.

[00:06:42] Don't forget to teach your kids to learn from their failures too. If the garage sale doesn't go well then why? Figure it out and try again. Persistence is everything whether you are a 12 year old entrepreneur or an 80 year old one. PS on a somewhat controversial note

[00:06:59] I sometimes pay my kids to do their homework. I think kids should get used to the idea early on that if they do good work they get paid for it. Every kid hates homework so it's not like I'm getting in the way of a legitimate passion.

[00:07:11] So it might as well use money to see how it focuses them. They're gonna have to learn that sooner or later anyway. So the earlier the better. You just listened to the post titled How to Turn Your 12 Year Old Into an Entrepreneur by James Altucher of JamesAltucher.com

[00:07:31] and I'll be back with my comments after this. Alright and a big thanks to James for this one. Lots of great ideas here today. And I really enjoyed how at the end of his first idea about the lawn store

[00:07:43] they repeated again a month later so you can see what they've learned. However, I think maybe the most important part of that learning experience is getting them to verbalize it themselves. With all of the ideas presented today come opportunities for reflection.

[00:07:59] Not just about the business side of things but about their feelings behind it. What went right, what went wrong. But also what did you enjoy or not enjoy? What surprised you or what felt expected? Asking these types of self-reflection questions

[00:08:15] will help your kids get in touch with entrepreneurship beneath the cracks. So they're both learning how to do it as well as learning how they feel about it. I think it's definitely a good exercise in helping kids make intentional work choices early on.

[00:08:29] Something that many of us wish we would have done at the beginning of our professional journeys and that's normally dating back to our 20s let alone our teenage years or before that if you are 12 years old. So think about that. Time to get going for today everyone.

[00:08:44] But don't worry, I will be back with another Parenting Post tomorrow and I hope to see you there where your optimal life awaits.