Thinking like an Entrepreneur is Thinking like a Citizen

Inc Magazine had a great little slide show on how to help your kids think like an entrepreneur. Since a lot of them match up with what we are doing at the IndED Academies Learning Library with our “What it Means to be a Citizen” course, we felt it was important to talk about what makes these things important — even critical — for parents and their kids, even if they do not end up becoming entrepreneurs. First, here are the TEN THINGS:

1. Teach them to set goals
2. Show them how to recognize opportunities
3. Financial literacy
4. Inspire creativity
5. Failure is GOOD
6. Effective communication is key
7. Independence breeds confidence
8. Take leadership opportunities early on
9. You’re always selling something
10. Giving back creates happiness

The first thing that should strike the senses about all of these things is that they all apply to being a good citizen, a part of the community, or a part of any group or organization in general. These skills are critical for any career which involves dealing with a variety of people. This also involves accomplishment and progress, which involves persuasion. In other words, all jobs, causes, and endeavors that we hope our kids expand and grow into. There is no vocation or service which these things do not improve.

So whether you’re an entrepreneur or not, or you wish your children to be entrepreneurs or not, you at the very least want them to be productive, engaging, inspiring, and confident citizens as a whole. You can do much worse than follow these steps and prepare them to be good entrepreneurs.