With degrees in teaching and marketing, Julie is a business professional and a founder of Miss M Online
Classes – the online project offering children 8+ business education around discovering and monetizing their
talents, entrepreneurship and marketing.

Some of you may be wondering why even start the conversation about kid entrepreneurship with
primary school-aged children. Doesn’t the common belief tell us that the focus of formative years is
on building the academic knowledge? I shared that belief before my own children started school.
Now, I am convinced that modern education should go hand-in-hand with practical learning, even
better – drive academic learning.

Here are a few facts. The Australian research identified earlier commercial sophistication as one of
the characteristics of generation alpha – today’s primary school children. Born between 2010 and
2025 and predicted to be the largest generation by the time they are all born, the kids about this
generation are called ‘screenagers’ due to their early screen exposure – before they even learn to
speak. Just think about this – the largest generation in the world’s history with high commercial
aptitude!

The same research suggests that entrepreneurial outcomes will be the focus and the expectation of
future education.

This trend is already being proved by the same research agency which found that 9 of 10 today’s
students regard themselves as future entrepreneurs, either full time or part time.
While business education for kids is being recognized as a value-adding touch to some middle and
high school curricula, most schools, particularly primary schools, do not yet meet this need of
commercial knowledge in children. And while it should not be considered as the final goal of
education, kid entrepreneurship is a great opportunity not to be missed in engaging children in
learning and creating motivation to pursue the knowledge beyond the classroom.

Benefits of learning kid entrepreneurship

By starting their own business kids can advance their academic knowledge independently,
appreciate the hard work that goes into money making and learn essential life lessons, such as
planning and prioritizing, overcoming failures and being in control of the money (and not vice versa).
When I work as a casual relief teacher across Australian primary & secondary schools, one thing that
consistently stands out for me is the level disengagement among children. The kids are simply not
interested in doing inspirational writing every single day. The prompts that are given to them are not
engaging, to say the least. So while they duly do the assignments, I can see there is no spark in them
eyes.

Now imagine they need to create a landing page of their website or a product description about
something that fascinates their minds, be it travel, or technology, or a social cause. And there is real
competition they should keep an eye on! By how well they do their job depends on whether they
attract any customers and earn any money. Now, that is a reason in itself to do well and explore
how to spell correctly, how to structure a persuasion piece, how to use the verbs of action (and obviously, know the other parts of speech). The list of skills the kids need for this task goes on and
on and extends into maths, in order to calculate profit, bundles and prices, as well as science,
geography, etc. depending on the chosen area.

Thus, the main benefit of starting business as a child is growing motivation by understanding why
and how the wider knowledge will help them win the entrepreneurial game.

How parents can encourage entrepreneurial thinking in children

Let’s be honest: not all kids are entrepreneurial by nature, and that’s totally fine. Our goal as parents
is to help discover kids’ natural talents and develop them further.

• Here’re a few ideas to see if your child has an interest in becoming an entrepreneur and how to build it:
  Read about entrepreneurs and their journeys, which are often inspiring real life stories, such
  as Shoe Dog by the founder of famous Nike Corporation Phil Knight.
• Visit small business owners in your neighbourhood and talk to them about what it takes to
  run a business, which skills a successful entrepreneur must have and what challenges they
  face every day.
• Ask your child about pros and cons of being an entrepreneur vs an employee.
• Visualise how their life will look like when they run their own business. Try to avoid
  idealisation and remind about the many failures successful entrepreneurs had to go through.
• Encourage your child to think how they could have overcome those situations and which skills
  they already have or need to learn to achieve business success.

Not only you’ll connect with your child through such conversations, but you’ll give them a
direction of thinking and further exploring the entrepreneurial world.

Business education for children 

If you discover that the idea of running a business fascinates your child, then deep dive into business courses for kids, such as Miss M Online Classes (https://missmonlineclasses.com/) which are  specially designed for children 8+.  

I developed these courses with my own children in mind using the best approaches that worked  during my school teaching to make the lessons valuable and equip kids with tangible outcomes they  can apply in real life straight away. Teaching being a secondary career, I generously share the gems  of 17-years long marketing experience which included running my own business. Thus, kids don’t  learn dry theory like in many other courses. Instead, they learn complex concepts through well  illustrated examples that surround them and they can relate to.  

In the online course “Young Entrepreneurs: How To Start A Business As A Child” kids learn key  marketing concepts through life-based examples and how to discover and monetize their natural  talents. 

If for any reason your child does not show an enterprising interest, learning financial literacy basics  and critical analysis of ads, product claims, colour perceptions, supermarket layouts and other  marketing effects designed to encourage specific buying behaviors through the “Un-Marketing  Course: Critical Thinking Skills for Kids” will benefit them well into adulthood.  

There is no lack of business courses for kids these days. The key is to find those that are developed  by professionals who have learnt their entrepreneurial art not by textbooks or courses, but through  personal experiences, and can engage with children grow their motivation to pursue self-learning. In other words, to set up the child for success and give them the motivation to succeed. 

Final thoughts 

As a teacher, an entrepreneur, and a mother in the first place, I believe that raising motivated kids is  more important than teaching school subjects. Similar to cooking, kids enjoy well-prepared food and  may even ask for more when it is made to their taste. Contrary to that, they refuse or spit out the  food they don’t like. This is why the knowledge, like food, should be well cooked in the way that  grabs kids’ curiosity and prompts them to explore concepts on their own beyond the school curriculum.  

Links & References:  

Please link to: https://mccrindle.com.au/article/topic/generation-alpha/generation-alpha-defined/ 

Please link to: https://missmonlineclasses.com/course/marketing-course-for-kids-how-to-start business-as-a-child 

Please link to: https://missmonlineclasses.com/course/unmarketing-how-to-buy-smart