Hey Mama Monday: How to Raise Young Entrepreneurs, Mama

Hey Mama,

When I was a little kid, I was not normal. I mean, I played with other kids and enjoyed sports and games—all the regular kid things, but I had a real obsession with marketing and sales. I didn’t know it was called those two terms, but I was rapidly pursuing the opportunity to do them . . . and really well. I know now what those terms are because it’s what I figured out (in my 30’s) that I wanted to do. The light bulb finally went off.

It all started when I was six years old in Alaska. We lived on an Air Force base, and my dad made cupcakes with me one day while my mom was out for the afternoon. After they were baked and frosted, he said I should go and sell them to all the neighbors in our courtyard.

“Twenty-five cents each,” he said. I was immediately enchanted with the idea. Within about 20 minutes, every cupcake was sold, and coins were jingling in my little pocket.

I was hooked on providing a service and/or product to the public! Nothing seemed more fun than that!

Throughout the years, I was the top seller in my Campfire Girls troop; so, I got to carry a big American flag, as a third grader, in the very front of a Base parade. I sold greeting cards to neighbors, tried to create shows and advertisements for radio stations, and dreamed of starting a business.

Sometimes, it takes a conscientious parent who “zones in” on a child’s interest and then propels her forward with that dream.

As a homeschool mom, YOU already do that, Mama. You notice your kids’ passions, and they become your passions as well. Because of some of you, your children have gone very far with their dreams. Some are now running their own businesses.

Need ideas on how to encourage your child’s entrepreneurial side? Read these articles from The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine:

Homeschool. Family. Entrepreneurs! by Hilary Herring

Plant a Seed, Grow an Entrepreneur by Pat Wesolowski

Making Entrepreneurs of Your Homeschoolers by Ruth O’Neil

And remember, Mama. . .

God wires each child perfectly and very specifically. And we homeschooling parents have the privilege to discover that makeup and then to help bring those precious plans to fruition.

If your child is out all day being raised by someone else, it means their peers or some other mentor will get that privilege. Keep them home, Mama. Stay the course. What a joy it is! You’re going to look back someday and see what your influence did. God has equipped you—just keep your eyes on Him (in the Word).

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” – Deuteronomy 6:4-9