How to raise young entrepreneurs
Children don’t learn financial intelligence in a vacuum. As a parent you should be teaching by example, writes Marchelle Abrahams
TEACHING children good money habits should be the top of any parent’s mind. Teaching them how to become budding entrepreneurs puts them on the right path to financial success.
Modern-day parents have often been chastised for giving in to temper tantrums and arguments and in many instances their response is: “I want my child to have the things I didn’t.”
Creative parenting expert and author Nikki Bush has a four-pronged approach on how parents should be putting strategies in place to counter this way of thinking.
“We should be teaching our children how not to fall into the debt trap,” she notes.
“Second, they need to know they cannot always have everything they want when they want them. They need to learn the value of money and to respect and look after their possessions. And, they need to learn how to save and invest because money makes money.”
Bush stresses the final point because she believes it’s a lesson that many adults have failed to learn.
She also urges parents to encourage entrepreneurial ambitions in children from a young age, but letting them independently come up with ideas and putting them into practise.
“My niece and nephew made themselves R155 on a weekend by selling candyfloss, popcorn and lemonade to passing neighbours in their estate. They got a bee in their bonnet that they wanted to create a pop up shop on the verge outside their home.
“Of course the money was split both ways, but on reflection, the workload was also split down the middle and many lessons were learnt,” says Bush.
Children don’t learn financial intelligence in a vacuum, adds Bush.
She says they need us to show them how, and making things as real as possible is the only way they can learn about money. Case in point: her niece and nephew’s pavement stall.
She does have a few tips on how to get them started:
Save for big ticket items Children should be encouraged to save towards big ticket items. Get them to agree to save towards something, and you add the equivalent or double. They will take more care of things that they've bought.
Open a bank account Less than 25% of South African children don't have bank accounts. Many parents may argue that there is no need for one, but it's quite the opposite. The idea is to teach them how to spend and save by becoming a “spaver”. Spavers know when it is important to spend and how much to save for something.
Invest, invest, invest Teach your children to invest so that they can learn how to make money work for them. This is part of our financial education most of us missed. It's important for them to understand the magic of compound interest.
Be resourceful Most schools have market days as fund-raising ventures. Brainstorm ideas with them by getting them excited about it. Once they've decided on a product to sell, advertising is essential. Help them draw up posters and pin them up around the neighbourhood or school. Teach them to have confidence in their idea – if they don't believe in it, it won't sell!
Visit Nikki Bush’s website: http://nikkibush.com/ or contact her: nikki@nikkibush. com THE typical recruitment process has seen a shift in focus towards personality and potential for growth.
This has led to more and more companies moving away from traditional interviews, opting rather for more interactive, personalityrevealing hiring sessions.
Dale Simpson, the curator of Radisson RED Hotel V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, says a major contributing factor to this shift is the growing importance being placed on company culture.
“A healthy company culture enables a team to work like a well-oiled machine and hiring candidates who are the right ‘culture-fit’ positively impacts on their commitment and dependability.”
The trend is prevalent in the hospitality industry.
“In our sector, personality is key, and while most skills can be taught, personality, for the most part, cannot.
“We look first for people who have the right personality and energy for a particular role, even if this means an employee will require significant upskilling.
“We are looking for those guys and girls who have a naturally expressive and funloving nature.”
In addition to boosting company culture, Simpson says the hiring process results in higher staff retention.
“When you hire based solely on experience and qualifications, you run the risk of employing someone who isn’t a great fit for the company’s culture. It would be detrimental to the greater morale of the team and probably result in the candidate being unhappy and leaving, leading to a high staff turnover.”
“Through a series of four interactive workshops, candidates are put in a position where their true behaviour will shine through, which allows us to really get a feel of who they are and what role they’d be best suited to. Live music and interactive performances will bring a fun vibe to the day, allowing the panel of casters to evaluate the natural passion of candidates.”
Simpson says staff are able to develop a broad range of skills because everyone is trained for everything and staff are rotated regularly.
“This creates a wellrounded team and ensures that the ball does not drop. If the chef is off sick, for example, someone else will be fully willing and able to step in.”
Copy supplied by Radisson RED Hotel