I think that I have always had a soft spot for kids. I love spending time with them and I love that there are so many things that you can teach them, every single day.  I have a daughter who is 13 and lives in the Pacific Northwest with her mom. I want to make the world a better place for her, and I want her to learn all of the lessons that I learned, only long before they cause her the pain and heartache that they caused me.  But I’m smart enough to know that most of the really important life lessons can only be taught through experience, so I brace myself each day for that learning.

I recently read a section in Southwest Airlines’ Spirit magazine called Your Entrepreneur Handbook. I was pleasantly surprised at what a good set of articles and advice it contained. If you get the chance, you should give it a read. But a couple of things stood out. First, there was a quote that 42% of entrepreneurs started their first business in childhood.   Second, there was an entire section on kids in business and how they were being successful.

It got me thinking about my own entrepreneurial roots. In 5th grade, I “borrowed” seed capital of $20 from my dad while he was sleeping (sorry Dad, I owe you $20) and I took that down to Green Jug Liquors in the San Fernando Valley where I grew up. With that $20, I bought candy.  A lot of candy. This was when candy bars were $.25 each and some candy was less. I filled up my backpack, hopped on my bike and opened up shop at recess. I sold candy bars for $.50 to all my friends, and let me tell you, I made a killing. I learned about supply (I had it) and demand (they had it). I learned what money and supply could do to elevate your social status, if only briefly, and that anyone will be your friend if you give them the stuff they want. But, I couldn’t save the money (why bother) and I couldn’t spend it on anything big (parents would assume I stole it, which was only half true), so I got bored with it.

I had a car washing business with my brother in middle school, where we made business cards that I just found the other day – “We Cleanz It Carwashers” where I listed myself as “Owner/Founder”.  How did I know anything about that? In high school, our Junior Achievement group did “Rose Production” in which we bought 2 dozen roses for $5 from the flower mart, individually packaged them and then sold them on campus and outside Rocketdyne, where someone knew someone and let us set up a table near the employee parking lot during shift change. We learned a lot about material cost and labor cost. We learned about rewards by getting to go on a ski weekend with our earnings. We also learned about theft and management dishonesty as our treasurer and others routinely stole money out of the company. All very valuable lessons that I still carry with me.

I think that the entrepreneurial spirit is something that we can and should pass on to young people, and that it can have a lasting impression on them long after they forget our names. Volunteer with Junior Achievement. Encourage your son, daughter, niece, nephew or neighborhood kids by helping them start something that they can call their own. Mowing lawns, walking dogs, babysitting, or maybe website design, computer training or social media training. With the online economy it is less important what age you are than what service you can provide at a reasonable price. Encourage kids to believe in themselves, to think big and have passion, while giving them the tools to succeed.

What were your early entrepreneurial exploits? How did you get funding and where did it take you? What hard lessons did you learn that you still refer to today?

Next week: Raising Financially Savvy Kids – Part II