Capitalism and Entrepreneurialism for Kids

Here’s the link to Amazon to pre-order Book 2 of the Future Business Leaders’ Series ™ if you want to get a copy straight off the press.  The name of Book 2 is Tyler Passes the Golden Key.

Amazon has the publishing date incorrect.  So please disregard.  It will publish at the end of May 2008 (this year) not 2009.

Hey - Here’s a sneak peek at Book 2’s front cover:

In Jan/Feb we asked kids to read the manuscript for Book 2 and give us their feedback. This is always the most insightful part of the process. They were very enthusiastic about the book, and I enjoyed learning from them how to improve it.

The biggest change I had to make was to simplify some of the characters’ names. A majority of the kids thought the name of the character “Why” was confusing to follow in the story, so they recommended I rename him “Wyatt” — so “Wyatt” he is.

Many of the kids said they liked how the second book introduces and involves a lot of other kids in the town of Nessibus. I found this to be a really positive observation since the importance of networking with their friends is a key theme of this second book.

After wrapping up with the kids, I spent March working with my editor fine tuning the story. Now we are ready for typesetting. One thing we’ll be changing this time around is the font. The font of the first print of Book 1 was a fun kid font, but a little hard to read. So, I’m going to look for a better font.

The illustrations started later than I had planned, which means we will publish the book in May, not April. But the wait is worth it. The front cover is so important for a children’s book. Designing the cover is my favorite part of the process. Our illustrator Guy showed me the first sketch of the cover the other day, and I’m very excited about the concept he has proposed. He is very talented.

Almost there!

Watch the video interview of Jason O’Neill, an 11-year old entrepreneur, and see what business he started at 9-years old and hear his advice to other kids who are interested in starting their own businesses.

He is interviewed by Danielle Hampson, author of The Art of Networking and founder of www.yoututortube.com.

Here’s a very interesting presentation by Robert Frank, author and economist, where he demonstrates how students learn complex concepts much easier through storytelling. His point is made through a series of interesting examples of how he teaches economics to his students. “Tell the message in a familiar context,” he says. At the very end of the presentation, minute 54:00, he speaks about a parent who read bits of Frank’s book to his 11-year son. Every night, the boy would ask for more, demonstrating that a kid can learn more about economics than a college student.

Robert Frank’s book: The Economic Naturalists

I ran across this video of a presentation so compelling and inspiring that I had to share it.  It’s titled Randy Pausch: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams (running 76.5 minutes).

Don’t let the length scare you off. It’s well worth your time to hear and watch the final lecture of the terminally ill, Carnegie Mellon professor. Professor Pausch takes the audience on a journey of his vivid life and career, keenly showing the passion that realized his childhood dreams. He reveals his lessons learned which are practical and universal for any pioneer. He speaks often of the importance of enabling the dreams of others, a topic near to the hearts of parents and teachers. His presentation is fun, inspiring and so full of life that you forget you’re watching a dying man say goodbye to his colleagues and students.

Book 2 of the Future Business Leaders’ Series is ready to begin the review and editing process. I’ve been working hard on it over the past few months and had originally hoped to get it into the hands of kids who will be participating in the pre-print focus group before they went back to school, until I found out that kids go back to school the 2nd week of August here in Atlanta — which is really early — so I missed that.  Then I got writer’s block in the Fall.  But I was able to pick it up again in October and complete it by the end of the year.  

Here’s the publishing plan for Q1 2008:

• Jan-Feb:  Edit, Hold Focus Groups, Illustrate
• Mar/April:  Print & Publish

Insights on Entrepreneurship from Pioneer Dr. Jeffry Timmons

I was doing some research for book 2 of the series when I came across this interview with entrepreneurship author and Babson and Harvard professor Dr. Jeffry Timmons in the Journal of Business Strategy.  His teaching methods (and philosophy) captured my attention, and I thought I’d share some highlights from his interview revealing his 30+ years of insights about entrepreneurship.

Sad, but true, Dr. Timmons asserts that entrepreneurship is THE ONLY PART of the students’ education “that truly takes a holistic look at an enterprise and an individual’s career aspirations, their development, and their life-long ambitions.“ 

Is This Life For You?
Fueled by this conviction, Dr. Timmons challenges his students to consider the entrepreneurial lifestyle by asking fundamental questions, such as:

• What are the risks and rewards of being an entrepreneur?
• Who is an entrepreneur?
• What are their backgrounds - were they raised among entrepreneurs or not?
• Who truly thrives on being one and why?
• What is their mindset–their attitude, their values and their orientation to risks and ambiguities that makes starting businesses appear “fun, challenging and rewarding” rather than “terrifying, off-putting and discouraging?”

Lessons Include
Some of Dr. Timmon’s lessons for students include a closer look at:

• The difference between a good idea and a good opportunity
• Where to focus your time
• What investors, bankers, customers, and suppliers look for

Steve Jobs and His Entourage
In my book series, networking is the key ingredient to business success for the kids of Nessibus. So, it is probably no surprise to you that I think one of Dr. Timmon’s most important lessons is conveying the message that being an entrepreneur…

“is not just a lone wolf, star entertainer, rock star thing. It’s much more complex and has much more texture around the whole constellation of people that you surround yourself with, gaining their confidence and support, starting with your own plan and expanding it into the informal and formal advisors that you surround yourself with.”

(I wish Dr. Timmons would be my advisor!)

Doing Damage to the Entrepreneurial Spirit
The last bit of insight I’ll share with you from Dr. Timmon’s interview cannot be summarized with any justice to the man who said it, so I’ll just put the entire quote here:

Formal education puts an enormous emphasis on not making any mistakes, of searching for the perfect solution and the underlying inventive assumption that every problem has a solution and answer. There’s a lot of damage done to kids’ intellect and their creative thinking because of that pervasive character of their education from Grade 1 right up through high school and college. Not everybody can make that change. Not everybody can look at things in a much more ambiguous, chaotic, fluid, messy, changing, relativistic sense and accept that while you know most of the things here have to be good enough they don’t have to be perfect.

To read the entire interview, visit The Journal of Business Strategy:
http://www.journalofbusinessstrategy.com/articles/JeffreyTimmons.shtml

MrsMoney asks if your child is an entrepreneur and gives some great ideas that I’d like to pass on to you.  I’ve inserted a clip from it.  See the link at the bottom of this post for MrsMoney’s full post.

” 1. Ideas - Encourage any idea your child/teen might have, but help them do research to determine if it is feasible. Find out if lots of other people are already doing the same thing. If so, your budding business tycoon will need to do it differently and better. Determine whether the idea will fill a need. (Remember the old adage that says, ‘You can’t sell ice to Eskimos.’)

2. Resources - Determine whether or not your child/teen has the resources to implement their idea. Will they need special equipment to make their product? Must they stock inventory? Be realistic about start-up costs and determine whether you would be willing to ‘invest’ in your budding entrepreneur.

3. Expertise - Is the idea in line with your teen’s interest and expertise or will they require help with the project? If help is needed, who might be willing and will they need to be paid? It’s always best for young marketing entrepreneurs to start with a product or service that excites them Internet-based businesses are quite popular these days and kids are so internet savvy that these businesses are a breeze for them to set up and run.”

 MrsMoney’s Blog:  Is Your Child an Entrepreneur?

According to Charu of Delhi, India: 

The President of India, APJ Abdul Kalam, is on a mission to change the mentality and aspiriations of Indian kids from becoming employees to becoming entrepreneurs.  Kalam recognizes this initiative will help secure the financial stability of his country.

• Charu’s blog