Do you want your kid to become a successful entrepreneur?
Well, you could play a big role in raising a kid who can be resilient and hard-working enough to start something new and build it by themselves.
As research for her book, “Raising an Entrepreneur,” Margot Machol Bisnow, who is a writer, mom and parenting expert, interviewed 70 parents who raised highly successful adults to dig deeper into how they helped their children achieve their dreams.
Here are four phrases these parents NEVER used when their kids were young:
1. “I don’t trust you, so I reviewed your homework and fixed the mistakes for you.”
One of the biggest lessons you need to learn as a parent is to let your child make mistakes and learn from them to become a more responsible and accountable adult. If you want to raise an entrepreneur who can fix the toughest of problems, then you need to prepare them as a child to figure their way out of hurdles.
Bisnow shares how John Arrow of Mutual Mobile, a technology company that has generated more than $200 million in revenue, grew from his parents’ support as a kid.
When he was in fifth grade, he and his friends wrote a successful school newspaper but they failed to do the fact-checking. While the principal and other parents were furious, John’s parents laughed and told him to fix his mistakes.
“Knowing my parents would support me, even when an authority was against me, made me double down and work harder to show them they were right to believe in me,” John said.
2. “We’re increasing your allowance so you can buy whatever you want.”
Bisnow’s 70 parents for the interview came from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, and they all taught their children the value of money. It is when as a kid they are not spoiled and they truly realise the value of work for money, can they raise successful businesses.
For Nyla Rodgers, founder of Mama Hope, a non-profit that funds and advocates for community organizations, the spark of her entrepreneurial journey began when her mother paid only half the cost for an overseas trip in high school, and told her that she had to earn the remaining half of the cost of the trip.
So she babysat, mowed lawns, walked dogs, taught swimming and did data entry. “I worked 15 hours a day, seven days a week to raise the money. By the end of the summer, I’d raised enough to go. That’s what started my entrepreneurial journey,” she said.
3. “No after-school activities until your grades improve.”
Even if you do not understand your child’s passion or have no clue where it will lead to, you’ve got to give them a chance. Some kids can manage to pursue their passion with academics whilst others may invest all their time in that extra-curricular passion. Bisnow noted that parents supported them regardless.
Jon Chu, director of “Crazy Rich Asians,” had a passion for making movies since he was in second grade. His immigrant parents hoped he would achieve the American dream by working hard, but never thought it could be in the film industry.
In high school, Jon’s mom got upset when she found him working on a video instead of doing his homework. He started crying, “But this is what I love! I want to do it my whole life.”
So, when she picked him up at school the next day, she got some filmmaking books for him from the library. “If you want to do this, study it, and be the best at it,” she said.
4. “I’ll give you money if you get good grades.”
While it’s important for the young ones to know the value of money, it may not be the most effective approach to make them work or run after money.
As per these parents, it was nurturing their kids’ passions that could make them work hard enough to create dreams and achieve them too.
Growing up, these future entrepreneurs were never taught that their life’s goal should be becoming rich. Instead, it was to succeed, to improve, and to create something great.
The kids trusted that the money would come. They grew up with a sense of purpose and wanting to make a difference in the world.
How important is parents’ role in child’s success
A child’s first learning institution is their home and they learn the most from their parents and the environment in which they are raised. Research has also found that parents who take a keen interest in their children’s education are more likely to create successful adults.
The responsibility of raising children to become successful adults may seem like a daunting task. However, with a mindful and caring approach, parents can bring out the best in their children by just helping them to unearth their personal skills, abilities, interests, strengths and weaknesses.
