How to Encourage an Entrepreneurial Mindset in Teens?
53% of Gen-Z’ers hope to run their own business within the next 10 years. How can we encourage our young teens to develop an entrepreneurial mindset?
At the beginning of 2021, we saw the great resignation, which is a trend in which employees have voluntarily resigned from their jobs, beginning in early 2021. Recently, there’s been a shift in the way millions view their careers. From the 9-5 jobs, many have chosen to be their own masters and started their own business ventures.
Attitudes toward entrepreneurship among Gen-Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) are particularly encouraging in this regard. A study conducted by EY (Ernst & Young Global Limited) and JA Worldwide found that 53% of Gen-Z’ers hope to run their own business within the next 10 years. This number jumped to 65% among those who have already entered the workforce. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States saw 3.4 million new business applications in 2021, many of which were submitted by Gen-Z entrepreneurs.
Dubbed the “digital first generation,” Gen-Z already has an appetite for ownership, much more than previous generations. When asked what they value in a career, that same EY and JA Worldwide study reported that these 10-to-25-year-olds desired career paths in which they could pursue original ideas and thoughts (ranking this higher than any other aspect when describing an ideal career).
This is exactly when it is very crucial to encourage an entrepreneur mindset in our teens. Not only can it translate to a future career path but encouraging entrepreneurship will teach kids how to be self-sufficient, what it takes to be an effective leader, how to be a strong decision-maker and ultimately instill confidence in their ideas and their ability to succeed.
Perhaps the most important thing to foster is an entrepreneurial mindset that emphasizes self-sufficiency and normalizes failure. When your teen learns to recognize bumps in the road as learning experiences rather than disasters, you’ll see an entrepreneur developing before your eyes, and they’ll learn each step of the way.
As you help your teen along their ownership journey, keep the following in mind:
- Any idea is a reasonable business idea.
- Failure is okay as long as you learn from it.
- A profitable business requires continuous learning and adaptation.
- Creativity matters — innovation is what makes you stand out.
Not all ideas will lead to success. Some will prove to be highly profitable, while others produce just a few bucks, but lessons learned along the way will be priceless. Regardless of whether your teen’s business prospers or not, continue to encourage them to seek greater levels of success. The key is to teach these young people to be strong and to keep moving forward toward passions and dreams. Foster self-sufficiency, independent thought and confidence, because with these three traits success will be theirs for the taking!
Credits: entrepreneur.com
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-Staff Reporter
