If your teens are anything like mine, they’re always looking for ways to make money. Even when my kids were small, they were budding entrepreneurs:
“Can we set up a lemonade stand at the end of the driveway?”
Um, no. Great idea, but you’re not going to make many sales when you live in a rural area. Good try, though!
As my kids have grown, their business ideas have matured as well – mowing lawns, raking leaves, and selling online.
Maybe you can relate. If you have teens who need summer business ideas, then this post is for you. You can download my list of teen business ideas at the link at the end of the post.
But first, why is it important to encourage our teens to start businesses?
Our Kids Need These Skills
As homeschool moms, we’re quintessential DIY’ers and entrepreneurs. We have a scrappy can-do attitude about most things related to our kids’ education. It’s just part of what it means to homeschool.
And so when our kids grow up in this environment, dabbling in entrepreneurship might come more naturally to them than to their peers who are growing up “in the box” so to speak.
As a DIY educator, you might not have completely thought about the advantages that your kids have in your home as it relates to innovation.
The 21stcentury is shaping up to require much different characteristics from the people who will be successful businessmen, creatives, and workers. Simply possessing a ton of knowledge is not the gold standard anymore.
This innovation era requires out of the box thinking, creativity, collaboration skills, and problem solving abilities. Hopefully our kids are learning these skills in our homeschools, but encouraging them to start a business will also be an advantage to them as they grow in these marketable skills.
If you want to read about what it will take to be successful in this new age of innovation, then check out the book Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era.
Kids With Learning Struggles Will Benefit
Kids with dyslexia also need opportunities for entrepreneurship. Does this surprise you?
We have one child in our home who possesses this unique learning style. And we have seen that he blossoms when considering innovative ideas and creative solutions.
In fact, studies cited in The Dyslexic Advantage show that dyslexia among entrepreneurs showed up at three times the rate it was in the general population. Think about that for a minute. If your child has dyslexia, one of the best things you can do for their specific processing style is to encourage entrepreneurship because these kids have specialized gifts that are essential to starting and growing a business.
They Need to Learn to Manage Money in the Real World
Once your kids are earning even a small income, you can walk with them as they learn wisdom and money management skills. Teach them what it means to give generously, to save, and also how to be a wise consumer. Small business owners get hands-on experience in micro-economics, and your teen just might remember what he learns with his side gig more than with an economics textbook in your homeschool.
So are you convinced to not just allow your teens to start a side business this summer but to actually encourage them and help them succeed in doing so?
If you’re ready, jump on over to 4onemore.com and grab a free download to get the inspiration started: Summer Business Brainstorm for Teens.
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Abby is a former public school teacher, now homeschooling her five children. She’s in the trenches just like you and knows it can be challenging to be home with your kids all day while you struggle to keep up with the housework and educate your kids (and maybe even work on the side!). She blogs over at www.4onemore.com and hosts the Homeschool with Moxie podcast.
