Want Your Kids To Be Entrepreneurial And Business-Minded At An Early Age? Here's How To Start

As parents, you want your children to look forward to a future made bright with possibilities and opportunities. But what if the path to your child’s success can start today? With the right skills, training, and mindset, tomorrow’s movers and shakers might just be our kids. Find out how you can raise your young ones to become little CEOs as early as now. 

Maiki Oreta, co-founder of Kiddo-preneur, an organization that aims to promote business and entrepreneurship amongst the Filipino youth, started this initiative because she wanted to instill a mindset many parents like her want their children to have—an entrepreneurial spirit. 

“I started Kiddo-preneur in 2011. As a business broadcast journalist and as a mom, it was borne out of the need to teach my own young kids about business in the hopes that they could develop both a passion and a knack for entrepreneurship,” says Maiki. 

Never too early to start

Many success stories often begin with a ‘Eureka’ moment. When you encourage your child to identify a problem or a need, their creativity is fostered when they think of solutions to address these needs. Brainstorming can also be a fun bonding experience with your child as you discover their thought process when you collaborate. As Maiki puts it, “Entrepreneurship is about problem solving. It’s about finding a gap in the market and filling it with your own unique concept and your own original brand, and yes, even kids are up to the task,” she shares with Smart Parenting. 

'It’s not so much about the age, it’s about the emotional and physical readiness of each child.' —Maiki Oreta, Kiddo-preneur founder on how early kids can start in business

From DIY smores to science kits, the kids of Kiddo-preneur have started businesses that they were able to conceptualize from their own passions and interests. When asked which businesses were particularly inspiring, Maiki shares the business of Megan Wang, a 14-year-old girl who started The S’more Spot.  

“The idea for this came from her love of smores, and the business opportunity came from a pain-point she wanted to address—every time she and her friends wanted smores, they had to meticulously source each and every item, so to ‘fix’ this, she decided to create smores kits,” she says. 

Maiki’s daughter Brielle also came up with a fun way to get both kids and adults alike interested in science with her product, Science in a Jar which she started back in 2011. “She did this because she wanted to start an entirely new concept, something no one else had done before. She called it ‘Science in a Jar’ because the entire metamorphosis process happens within that jar, and when it reaches its final form, a butterfly, you can simply let it go,” Maiki shares. 

Teach kids age-appropriate business basics 

Building a strong foundation of financial literacy is essential to any aspiring entrepreneur. Depending on how old they are, there’s always something they can learn. Younger children might not be able to grasp concepts like budgeting and investing, but they can start small with simple tasks.  

“In our 12 years of experience at Kiddo-preneur, we’ve learned that it’s not so much about the age, it’s about the emotional and physical readiness of each child. Yes, some tasks like calculating change, advertising, and marketing require a certain age and skill level, but really, even the littlest ones can help do things like bag products or perhaps scoop some ice cream and serve customers in other ways, advises Maiki. 

RELATED: This 13-Year-Old Earns Five Digits A Month! Here's Her Parents' Tips On Raising A Teenage CEO

Make an impact

Entrepreneurship isn’t just about profits and gains. It’s about recognizing a need and giving back. Encourage your child to donate a portion of their earnings to charity or a church ministry. Share your own lessons learned and be your child’s mentor, so he can one day be someone else’s. Developing a growth mindset will jumpstart a movement that will last generations and help others funnel their efforts into enterprises that help build the community. 

'What’s important is that we teach kids that, yes, they too can make their own money and that the entire business process can be fun and rewarding,' —Maiki Oreta

“Over the short term, I love seeing kids find creative solutions to problems and make money off their own original concepts and homegrown brands. Over the long term, I love that the work my team and I produce helps to jumpstart the entrepreneurial journeys of the next generation, so we may hopefully have more MSMEs, SMEs, more jobs, and a stronger Philippine economy altogether, driven by a strong base of savvy entrepreneurs,” shares Maiki. 

Have fun making money

Everyone loves making a buck, but whether they’re business owners or employees, what many adults forget is that starting a business is exciting! Give kids real-world opportunities like keeping an eye out for the latest trends for market research or encourage them to sell their homemade creations online. Learn the ropes alongside your child as you find ways to help their business succeed, while showing them that you can have a little fun along the way.  

“What’s important is that we teach kids that, yes, they too can make their own money and that the entire business process can be fun and rewarding,” Maiki says. 

Starting a business is never easy, let alone one run by your son or daughter. In the end, it’s about instilling mindsets that will pave the way for a successful future. With some patience and a little help from mom or dad, there’s no better time than now for your children to be their own bosses. 

“Our goal is to get the youth of the Philippines interested in business and entrepreneurship, and as we’ve done before, we’ll grow naturally in all the directions this takes us. Who knows where we'll be in five years? Rest assured, we are dynamic, flexible, eager to learn and grow with the times, and committed to democratizing entrepreneurship in the Philippines and beyond,” Maiki says.

Here's how your child can join Kiddo-preneurs upcoming events:

Read this article to teach your child financial literacy.