Did anyone out there happen to watch this documentary when it aired?

I would guess that the most of you have heard of Dave Ramsey, and if you haven’t, you will love his teachings on ‘Financial Freedom’. Almost 10 years ago we met with his agency and it changed our life. So much of what he teaches you will probably already know, but haven’t really applied to your life. Dave Ramsey has a gift of ‘telling it like it is’ that has inspired millions to change the way they manage their finances

On April 1st  Dave Ramsey is offering a seminar in Nashville, TN called ‘Entreleadership’. Entreleadership is best described on their website as:

EntreLeadership is Dave’s premier leadership training program where he personally teaches individuals, teams, and businesses how to grow.

Whether you’re an individual who wants to develop your leadership abilities, a business or organizational leader who wants to develop your team, or an entrepreneur who wants to build a business on solid, proven principles, EntreLeadership is for you

The Lessons you will learn:

* Leadership Development
* Dreams, Visions and Goals
* Hiring Champions and Confronting Failure
* Financial Peace for Business
* Decision-Making The Right Way

Attend this dynamic seminar in person for $99 if you live near Nashville. You can also register to attend a simulcast nationwide for just $39. They are broadcasting it in over 250 places around the US and to see if there is one near you go to: http://www.daveramsey.com/entreleadership/simulcast/ .

If you have a business, or are serious about starting a business with your teens, this would be ideal to attend as a family. The information is priceless and, if applied, will be worth 100 times the admission price. See you there!

You can watch a free 40 minute lesson online at:  http://www.daveramsey.com/entreleadership/preview/.

For those of you new to the site, Homeschool Entrepreneur started with a dream of seeing entrepreneurial education as a required part of every balanced educational program. As a veteran  homeschool parent, naturally I saw the homeschool environment as an ideal springboard for this ‘out of the box’ idea. The flexibility of homeschooling coupled with the progressive nature of most that embrace this alternative educational environment, seemed to be a perfect fit. I was sure others like myself would see the benefits. What I didn’t realize was it turned out to be an idea before it’s time. Inc’s article encouraged me that maybe that time is finally here. Now, that’s exciting!

Education, much like religion, is fraught with tradition. Many homeschool parents will tell you they have had a hard time breaking away from the traditional model of “school” and ended up simply doing ‘public school at home’ – especially at the beginning. I’m not saying that is a bad thing, but when the true nature of homeschooling is embraced, the experience is so much richer. Likewise, entrepreneurial education has yet to break out of it’s stereotype and become the educational tool it can truly be. (more on that soon!)

Maybe, just maybe, the  understanding that entrepreneurial education isn’t just for business geeks has finally made it to the big presses. Inc Magazine is one of the first I’ve seen to embrace this possibility. I’m not talking about those that deal directly with entrepreneurial education like  The Kaufman Foundation and our own Homeschool Entrepreneur. The number of college-level entrepreneurial programs has certainly increased substantially, as well as a sprinkling of high school level programs. However, it’s still considered education solely for the imminent start-up. Think of all the courses you have had to take throughout high school and college that had nothing whatsoever to do with what you were aspiring to do in life. All in the name of a balanced education. Somewhere along the line the entrepreneurial mindset was completely washed out.

Several years ago it was the chatter among entrepreneurs and some economists that small business would be the key to America’s economic recovery. So, why hasn’t America quite recovered yet? I think Inc’s Reviltalization Plan included a few statistics that might shed a little light on why the power of free enterprise hasn’t quite lifted us out yet.

Why entrepreneurs have not pulled us out . . . yet:

A quote from this Inc Magazine special report:

Young companies — those younger than six years old — provide the bulk of new jobs; in 2007, they accounted for 64 percent of them, according to a 2009 survey by the Kauffman Foundation that looked at start-up formation since the 1970s.  (italics ours)

. . . Unfortunately, creating new companies is easier said than done. The rate of business creation has remained stubbornly constant over the years. Since the early 1990s, the number of start-ups has hovered at about 500,000 a year, according to a survey by the Kauffman Foundation. This has been the case during booms and busts, whether taxes were rising or falling, and whether venture capitalists were irrationally exuberant or largely recalcitrant.

“Clearly, some new thinking is required.”

OK, so what is this new thinking? It’s proven out that increasing the availability of entrepreneurship courses in universities has had no effect. The fact that the increase of schools offering relevant courses from 500 in the 1970′s to over 2000 schools in 2005 resulted in little or no increase in the number of start-ups speaks for itself. What Inc did point out were two programs that offer hands on training that are making an impact:  The Launch Pad at the University of Miami and MIT’s Entrepreneurship Center.

Simply offering more practical training is only part of the solution to this ‘new thinking’ to encourage business start-ups, but I believe Inc hit on something that even they may not realize the impact of – Get them while they are young.

Finding the Bill Gates of the sixth grade?

Inc’s report targeted middle school aged students as the ideal age group to teach entrepreneurial principles. Personally, I think the younger the better, while appropriately increasing the level of education as the child grows. While Inc’s ideal is to find the Bill Gates of the sixth grade, I think we need to find the hidden gold in each of our children at the earliest possible age. Creating real life work scenerios in the form of mock or real business as educational projects can reveal a child’s inner talents faster than any other extracurricular activity. Why? Because the rewards of such activities are very real, measurable, and are directly related to what they see in their everyday life. A boy may love cars, but how does he translate into productive, real life work?

Inc’s bottom line on educating young entrepreneurs:

“Putting ideas into action may be the biggest challenge for entrepreneurs. Teaching youngsters how to do it is among the best investments we can make.”

Homeschool Entrepreneur’s bottom line:

Making practical entrepreneurial education a relevant part of every child’s education from a young age does much more than teach them how to create a new  business. It provides children with an understanding of how the economy actually works, because every job either involves running a business, or working for someone that does. Would it make a difference if everyone understood how business success or failure affects everyone, especially our economy? We study history to  learn from the past to avoid repeating historic mistakes. To study entrepreneurship in the same manner will encourage a new mindset – a mindset that is mindful of building America’s economy by either building strong businesses that create good jobs, or being an employee that does the best they can to help their company grow resulting from the belief that their contribution really does make a difference. Entrepreneurship education isn’t just for business owners, because a strong economy also relies on good employees supporting those businesses. When everyone understands what is at stake, some ‘new thinking’ will naturally take place. Then, if a time comes that anyone wants to start a business, they will know exactly where to start and success will be much more likely. Replacing the ‘worker bee’ mentality with a dedicated attitude towards success. Creation of business incubators, launch pads and practical start-up resources will be encouraged and common place, easy to find, and a valid tax deduction.  The knowledge void that currently plagues many would-be entrepreneurs will be a thing of the past.

Please read the entire article on Inc’s Revitalization Plan. I realize I was a little biased by only elaborating on the educational aspects. Their take on providing more practical tools to encourage start-ups are inspirational. Matching ideas and investors, tax incentives to help all involved, and wait till you read about the TechShop in Menlo Park, California. We could use one of those in every major US city. Let me know what you think of the article, and your ideas about how we can start teaching our children now how they can impact our economy by thinking entrepreneurially.

The Kaufman Foundation is sponsoring a  ‘Building a Stronger America’ campaign and encouraging all entrepreneurs to take The Entrepreneur’s Pledge.If you aren’t familiar with the Kauffman Foundation, it’s the largest organization devoted to entrepreneurship and furthering better understanding of the economic impact of entrepreneurship.

Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation in the video on the Take The Pledge website, challenges everyone, especially youth, to take up the yoke of entrepreneurship as a way of helping the economy. Changing the mindset of Americans to serve their country this way is certainly a new approach, and one that we could all achieve. You may not be prepared or willing to quit your day job to start a business, but financial experts agree that having a small home business on the side is good money sense. Where it grows from there could be very exciting! We consider it the ideal family project.

Teaching Entrepreneurship-the younger the better!

Carl Schramm also says that the younger we introduce young people to the concept of entrepreneurship, the better prepared they will be for life and contributing to the society they life in. So many young people have dynamic and useful ideas, but no idea or motivation how to commercialize them. You can change that.

To take the pledge, simply read the terms and enter your name and email address-and if you don’t want more email in your box, just uncheck the box that says “Send me updates about the entrepreneur’s movement”.

The terms of the pledge are:

• I am an Entrepreneur.
• I am following a dream, pursuing an opportunity, taking charge of my own destiny.
• I am bringing something of value to society, making a job for myself and for others, and creating wealth that benefits my family, my community, my country, my world.
• I am one of a movement of millions of entrepreneurs and innovators who made America great, and who will continue to keep our economy going…and growing.
• I am what I am because many people have helped me along on this journey.

Therefore…

• I will tell my story, sharing my successes and failures, so that others taking the entrepreneurial path can learn.
• I will strive to mentor an aspiring entrepreneur.
• I will make my voice heard by those who make policy decisions that affect me and my business.
• I will appreciate and celebrate my accomplishments, and the accomplishments of all my fellow entrepreneurs.
• I will give back to the society that helped me to be successful.
• I will Build A Stronger America

Watch the video, sign the pledge, or begin to learn what you need to know to start a business. Do it for your country. . . and make it a family affair!

I firmly believe that God has given all of us a purpose and a gift to fulfill that purpose. So, it really boils down to identifying what we were created for and enjoying what God put us here for. Thinking of a business in the area you are passionate about is easy once you know what to look for.

Most likely, you know your area of interest pretty well because you love it so much, so sit down with a piece of paper and a pen and list the different products and services in your market and consider the following:

• What products or services in your area have you noticed problems with? What could you do to solve those problems?
• Is there a product that could use a fresh take? Starbucks took coffee from it’s hum drum, boring existence and raised it to glamorous heights by changing the way people drink it!
• What new products have hit the market recently that you could do something with? When the iPod came out, many people found their fortunes in writing software apps and designer accessories. Don’t overlook hot new book or movie releases or recurring new themes.
• Taking a different look at the changes around us has opportunity written all over it. Going green has created many new businesses and services. The economy has made many simple money-saving blogs famous. Are you known as a cheapskate? Great! Start a blog and share your ideas for saving money.
• Don’t be afraid of competition. Is there a product or service out there you can do just a little bit better? Publix is a grocer that sets itself apart with it’s premium customer service. Almost any business can excel if your customer service shines.

Some great places to get a feel for the latest trends:

http://google.com/trends

http://pulse.ebay.com/

http://buzzlog.buzz.yahoo.com/overall/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/

http://content.usatoday.com/life/books/booksdatabase/default.aspx

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/books/bestseller/

What ways have you researched your business ideas?

Leaving a lucrative job in corporate America four years ago, Mike is a stay at home father with their book business on Ebay as his primary income. He also travels all over America teaching eBay classes, as well as entrepreneur classes! Mike and Julie Anna’s have caught the ‘Homeschool-Entrepreneur’ vision – uniting families through home entrepreneurship.

On their website, FamilyBusinessIdeas.com, you will find many great ideas for your family business, as well as help on how to get started. They offer a very reasonably priced ebook giving you everything you need to succeed on Ebay selling children’s books, and a book for the WAHM,  Cybermoms Home Income Ebook, also available on Ebay.

You can also subscribe to a monthly report that keeps you up to date on the most valuable books that you can be looking for to sell yourself. You may have one or more on your shelf at home!

Visit their bookstore at Book Jewels For Children.com

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Recently I read an article on The Open Forum,  101 Tips from Small Business Bloggers and was particularly impressed with a quote from Seth Godin:

“Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead. It’s uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers. It’s uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail. It’s uncomfortable to challenge the status quo. It’s uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle. If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader.”
— Seth Godin, Seth’s Blog

I got to thinking, are we teaching our teens leadership as part of their homeschool? As a part of teaching the entrepreneurial mindset, there are few traits more important than leadership.

According to this definition, if our children are comfortable with being uncomfortable, or at least understand that it’s normal to feel that way in leadership situations, then they will also have the tools to continue to stand for what they believe, long after they’ve left the nest.

Its so easy to get focused on learning all the facts and figures that brings those surreal ACT and SAT scores home, but do they have what it takes to succeed…on their own terms? Or will they end up doing what ever is necessary in life under the popular ‘feel-good’ theology of the day? Hopefully not, but as a parent of 3 grown children, hindsight is definitely best sight. There are so many situations that have presented themselves that this momma thinks, ‘we never talked about that…what if…” that it’s easy to see what I missed – after the fact. Thankfully with my children, so far- so good, and arguably a solid foundation tends to cover a lot of territory, but sometimes the winds blow hard, and really tries those weak spots!

Teaching leadership as a part of your homeschool may not be something you’ve thought of, or maybe you have. It is so much more than simply a good business skill. The ability to take the reins in a situation that requires them to step out of their comfort zone isn’t easy. If they know ahead of time that those uneasy feelings are perfectly normal, and have had the opportunity to practice,  even once, to experience the deep satisfaction that comes from pushing through, then they are much more likely to try it again. In this generation that has been raised by the radical baby boomers, chances are there will always be someone else willing to step up, but not always with the desired outcome.

As a part of teaching the entrepreneurial mindset, keep it in the back of your mind to recognize that life event that could provide them with a chance to push through uncomfortable feelings and step up to a challenge that will stretch them. They may need a great deal of encouragement and you may even need to push them, just don’t push them down. If they aren’t ready yet, there will be another time, I guarantee it. Life tends to present more ways to move outside of our comfort zones than we would like!

One way to create an opportunity is to enroll in a Toastmaster’s class for teens. Several years ago my daughter had the opportunity to be in such a situation, and it was great. Communicators for Christ is very similar, and can be found in most areas. However, since some of the best leadership opportunities for a Christian often involves a group of non-Christians, Toastmasters is a good testing ground.

Anyone else know of a situation that taught their teen how to push past those uncomfortable feelings into a leadership role? How did it turn out? What would you have done different?

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