Today’s younger generations are more ambitious and entrepreneurial than any group that came before them. Many now have a part-time job of some description, and many are even taking advantage of the growing gig economy and freelance market.
The passion younger generations have when it comes to launching and building their own career, has also led to an influence of younger business owners, starting their own venture while still in college. As a parent, you’re in an incredible position to support, and guide your child as they make their way into the complex world of business ownership. This holds true even if you’re not an entrepreneur yourself. The question is, how can you help your child while still nurturing their independence, ambition, and creativity?
Here are some great ideas to explore when thinking how you can help your child launch their own business.
Help Them Form Their Business Plan
While it will be up to your child to decide exactly what kind of company, they want to run, and what industry they want to get involved with, you can still help them cultivate an effective plan. During the early stages, when they’re exploring business opportunities, help your youngster to explore the market and validate the potential of certain opportunities.
A great way to make sure your child has all the information they need to set up a successful business is to work with them on creating a business plan. There are templates online that can guide your youngster through everything from choosing a business structure, to creating a financial strategy. Writing a business plan should really be the first step when helping your child launch their own business.
Consider Where You Can Help Financially
The chances are you won’t be able to fund your child’s business completely on your own. This is true no matter how much you want to help them. But you can find ways to provide them with access to more financial assets. You can work with your youngster on setting up business and personal bank accounts and creating cash flow strategies.
If your child needs to expand their education before going into business for themselves, you could also consider taking steps to assist with securing a better deal. Cosigning a loan can be a great way to help your child pay for college and ensure they don’t have as much student debt to manage when they start their new business.
Teach Them to Set Realistic Goals
Launching a new company can be exciting for a young entrepreneur. It’s tempting to set lofty goals. This goals may include making huge profit in the first year or becoming a market leader in a few months. However, while it’s important for your child to have a positive mindset when it comes to starting their company and achieving sales goals, they also need to be realistic. Teaching your child how to set realistic goals can help to prevent them from feeling like a failure if their business doesn’t go exactly according to plan.
Show your child how to set both long and short-term goals for their company. This is crucial when helping your child launch their own business. Make sure these goals are realistic, specific, time-bound, and attainable. Help them track their progress towards their goals, and make sure you’re there to celebrate the little wins. When issues arise, show your child how to use a growth mindset to learn from their mistakes, and improve in the future.
Help Develop Valuable Business Skills
Unless you have an MBA of your own, or experience running your own company, you might not be able to teach your child all the skills they’ll need to thrive as a business owner. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help them with developing some of the essential talents they’ll need.
Every business owner needs leadership skills, excellent communication skills, and good money management capabilities. As a parent, you can teach your child how to be an effective leader, work with them on improving their communication abilities and show them how to track finances. It is also important to teach them how manage budgets, and even assess financial opportunities. Instilling these ideas is a great way to help your child launch their own business.
Be a Source of Motivation
Finally, above all else, one of the best things you can do as a parent when helping your child launch their own business is to be a source of motivation and support. Running a business can seem like fun at first, but it comes with several challenges to overcome. Many young entrepreneurs will find the experience stressful, and even overwhelming at first.
Ensuring you’re always on-hand to talk through issues with your youngster, keep them feeling positive when issues happen, and celebrate wins with them is crucial. You can form an important part of the support network your child relies on when growing their new company.
Inspire the Next Generation of Business Leaders
The new generation of entrepreneurs emerging in the world today won’t just be supported and driven by new technology and educational resources. These would-be entrepreneurs still rely on their parents for guidance, support, and compassion. Invest in your child’s entrepreneurial spirit, and you could find they achieve incredible levels of success, in virtually any industry.
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