I don’t spend as much time on Twitter as I’d like, (but more than I should) and I have found some of the best resources there. Here’s a resource that @KentBeatty tweeted, and decided to pass it along as soon as I saw it, especially since it was only available free for a few more days.  Swag Films is offering the documentary, “The Entrepreneur”, free until July 30. Appearing to be a  perfect  “Homeschool Entrepreneur” assignment, it is a full length movie documenting every detail that Mark Bricklin, founder of Subaru, goes through as he tries one more time to change the auto industry with a new start-up. He has the advantage of experience in the industry, along with contacts that would give anyone an edge.  I find it touching that his own son is doing the documentary, which surely gave him entrance into areas of his father’s life not given to many.

However, I thought I should watch it through before recommending it (!) and am glad I did.  While it gives a very realistic view of what really goes on behind the scenes in financing and moving forward with a start up of this magnitude, it also gives a birds-eye view AND earful of what it would be like to be an entrepreneur in the auto industry AND dealing with people that don’t share your convictions.

What do we allow our children to experience in the name of education?

The language in this movie will be very offensive to most Christians, so do you want to expose your teen to that? Christians are varied in their opinions of what they allow their children to be exposed to, and I refuse to judge the way that God has called you to raise your child. With 3 grown children, I have traveled down both roads, and have carefully observed both ways to work AND not work, so don’t let anyone except God make that decision for you.

Along with many different Christian viewpoints, all children are very, very different, and I have two boys that illustrate this perfectly. They are grown now, so I have the luxury of hindsight. Only 19 months apart, they were VERY active and ALL boy, yet were quite opposite in the way they responded to discipline. What worked very well for one, did not work for the other, and vice versa. While we all have a different parenting philosophy, none of us are willing to sacrifice our child’s heart for outward obedience. What I’m saying is that maybe the deciding factor in what we expose our children to largely depends on the child!

An excellent springboard for an ‘Integrity Talk’?

In the world of business, there are very few, if any, places free of any exposure to this type of language or other compromises in character. I don’t have to tell you that, and I’m sure you’ve already  had discussions about language purity with your children. The  ‘Integrity Talk’ I’m referring to is a little different and is one of the biggest advantages to teaching your teens about business while still living at home. Simply telling them not to use language like that, and punishing them when they do may work . . . until they grow up and move on.

Having non-judgemental talks about using language like that in the market-place  and the reasons it’s not necessary is a good start. I think it could actually be more effective with some kids when discussed as a ‘business skill’ than addressing it in reference to their own or their friend’s behavior. Understanding the true value of integrity in business has wide reaching implications. Ask them who they would rather do business with and why? Granted, we can’t judge solely on outward appearance, but what about “out of the heart the mouth speaketh“? I’m sure you can take it from here.

Deciding when foul  language needs to be addressed and helping them to find ways to communicate it tactfully is a critical business skill. Not having this skill developed ahead of time can put them in a very awkward, if not complacent, position. Maybe you will choose to tolerate some language in the marketplace, yet never tolerate listening to the Lord’s name being taken in vain.  This is a subject that is very individual, yet one every Christian family should address. Let’s call it our “Language Contingency Plan”!

Age and maturity is a given factor in deciding whether to deliberately expose teens to undesirable behaviors, but what do you think? You know they will encounter it at some point, do we just let them figure it out as they go along? Have you spoken to your children about these issues, and do you have any tips for others who are just entering that phase of life?

Sometimes combining talents with a few of your talented friends makes a good mix for a business. JuniorBiz.com  was founded by Nick Tarte, a student at Colorado State University. With six years of experience as General Manager of a teen lawn mowing and snow removal service under his belt, he now works for World Marketing Solutions developing several successful websites. His co-founder, Paul Gigliardi, is another successful teen entrepreneur that ran his own computer repair business in high school. Diane Ellsworth has a passion for what kids can do and is in charge of sales for their website.

Visit their website, Junior Biz.com, and take a look at what they are doing. You may find some information for your next business!

Here’s 18 ideas to help get you started!

http://www.juniorbiz.com/general-business/18-teen-business-ideas

If you haven’t seen this video yet, it’s well worth taking the time to watch. My question is…why hasn’t our education system shifted? . . . or maybe that’s why homeschooling is growing so rapidly. This is the most recent version.

This is a really cute idea that is free to download, except for the paper you use. Teens might really like it because it’s really small and can fit in their pocket, purse or wallet. All you do is print it, fold it, and it’s ready to go, complete with a little pocket that can hold a business card! For those of us that haven’t mastered . . . or purchased . . . a Blackberry, it’s an easy notekeeper.

I’ve recommended it to our teens that are just starting their business to carry with them to jot down notes on the job, phone numbers and reminders while on the go. You never know when you make a passing comment that you will actually remember it, and most kids won’t carry around a little notepad.

Homeschool Entrepreneurial Question to answer: so how do you think they make money on this if they give it away?

Check it out at

http://www.pocketmod.com/

Teaching the entrepreneurial mindset is not only new to homeschoolers, but is relatively new in the most respected academic institutions. The validity of entrepreneurial thinking has been questioned and even attacked as frivolous, undisciplined, and ineffectual. Research is beginning to emerge to prove very differently. We knew that change was on the horizon with the rapid advance of technology, but few actually forsaw what is taking place. What we see today is very different from only 10 years ago, and will be even more complex in the next 10 years.

What does this mean for our children? How do we prepare them for a future that is impossible to predict? Each generation of the last century could adapt within their lifetimes to the slower, more predictable changes. That is no longer the case. Information offered in universities is often outdated before the course is over, and certainly by graduation. In the first time in history, knowledge is not the coveted commodity, but the ability to adapt, to think critically, and to solve problems with what is immediately available.

In the article, MBAs vs. Entrepreneurs: Who Has the Right Stuff for Tough Times?,  Bill Taylor at Harvard Business Press is taking a hard look at the changes MBA’s from prestigious schools such as Harvard are facing as they enter the work world. It seems that an MBA from Harvard no longer carries the promise of the most prominent positions it once did. Mr. Taylor says:

As the economy experiences the most deep-seated changes in decades, maybe it’s time to change our minds about what kinds of people are best-equipped to become business leaders.

So what kinds of people does Mr. Taylor think are candidates for great business leadership? His answer refers to a study done by Saras Sarasvathy who teaches entrepreneurship at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia. She has written highly regarded essays, white papers and a book on her outstanding research on this subject.

Her work has revolved around the question: What makes entrepreneurs “entrepreneurial”  as well as answering whether there is such as thing as “entrepreneurial thinking”?  The research she has done provides a new look at the significant difference entrepreneurial thinking offers versus the reasoning style that results from a traditional MBA education even from schools with the status of the likes of Harvard.

She believes that the education MBA’s receive leaves them with a reasoning and approach to business that may not fit the enormous changes we are currently experiencing in the economy. Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are embracing a type of critical thinking that she believes is more suited to survive what is to come. MBA’s tend to approach business with facts and figures, analyzing with results seen to work in the past. Utilizing what is at hand, and a keen eye on the future, entrepreneurs use reasoning that flexes with results. Instead of starting with a specific goal and achieving it in the most efficient way, an entrepreneur carefully watches each result and moves with it, with an adaptability that could cause a Harvard MBA to short circuit.

I’ll leave the rest of the details for you to read in the article, but it boils down to what homeschoolers have known from the start. What I call ‘hardcore homeschoolers’ have made the decision to educate their children at home not as much to avoid what the public schools inflict, but to provide what they do not. Understanding their children better than the best trained teacher possibly could, they can not only adapt their education to their learning styles, but encourage the critical thinking skills and the ‘out of the box’ mentality that is predicted to serve them better in an uncertain future.

I firmly believe that there is no more fertile ground for teaching entrepreneurial thinking than a homeschool that offers creative ways to learn and put that learning into practice. Early homeschools often lacked resources and outside support to create the atmosphere they knew was best, but now with the internet and the support of millions that have gone before them, the possibilities are infinite.

Now, according to the most recent research, knowing how to think entrepreneurially not only makes someone more marketable, but is being cited as what just might turn our economy around. Think about it.

Just one more reason to start a family home business!