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To me, being the founder of a for-profit business does not make one an entrepreneur. It applies to anyone who transforms a passion into a project by coming up with a concept and making it a reality.
As the mother of two successful sons, I’ve discovered that the most important parenting advice focuses on instilling in children the confidence to take risks. But how exactly do you do that?
When I was preparing my book, “Raising an Entrepreneur,” I questioned 70 parents who had raised extremely successful adults about the most extreme things they had done to help develop courage and confidence in their children.
1. They Taught Their Children A Desire To Learn And A Lack Of Fear
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This sometimes entails allowing children to break the law.
Shareablee, a company that assesses the effects of social media platforms used by businesses, was founded and led by Tania Yuki.
When Tania was just 4 years old, she began to lose her fear and embrace risk-taking. She recalled going gift buying at a high-end store with her father. She touched almost everything in spite of the “NO TOUCHING” sign.
She was holding something when a salesperson saw it and grabbed it. Tania initially believed she was in danger. Her father intervened, explaining, “She’s just interested. I’ll pay for everything she damages, I promise!
I knew then that my parents would always have faith in me, “Tania told me. “They never had any justification for discouraging any of my interests. I never believed that being curious would bring me harm.
2. At A Very, Very Young Age, They Granted Their Children Freedom
All of the parents I spoke with believed that children would grow more self-assured and independent the earlier they were given big responsibilities.
The Soze Agency, a business that designs advertising for businesses, was founded by Michael Skolnik. At the age of 14, he fell in love with theater and sent letters to 50 Broadway producers requesting an internship. A New York City-based company named Blue Man Group said yes to him.
Because of their full-time jobs, his parents were unable to take him from their home in Westchester County to NYC every day, but they had friends who did, and they allowed him to live there by himself that summer.
Although I’m not sure if having that much independence and freedom at such a young age would be beneficial for everyone, it was for Michael. Because of their faith in me, I was able to mature much more quickly than my contemporaries, Michael said.
3. They Did Not Choose Their Children’s Passions
Trusting in results, we can’t yet see isn’t always simple. However, all of these parents had faith in their children’s ability to decide how to use their free time.
Co-founder Eric Ryan helped start the $100 million cleaning product company Method Products. His childhood obsession was sailing.
Although I wasn’t a good student, I devoted a lot of time to sailing. I competed in sailing from the fourth grade through college, “says he. “Even though he had no sailing experience, my father was always there to encourage me at races.
Eric, like many of the successful businesspeople I met, decided to pursue a passion that his parents might not have recommended.
His mother said, “My husband and I had a list of things we wanted them to know how to do, like how to ski and how to ice skate, but then they chose what they were interested in.”
4. They Shared Their Personal Difficulties
Many people believe that successful adults have it as simple as children. However, success is frequently attributed to a person’s ability to deal with failure.
Due to the success of her clothing line, Aviator Nation, Paige Mycoskie is one of the wealthiest self-made women in the country. Pam, her mother, explained to me that Paige’s resilience resulted from witnessing her go through hardships of her own.
“I had excessive cholesterol, so I had to change my diet,” she said. I published a cookbook with recipes for low-fat cooking, she stated. “I didn’t know anything about publishing or how to write a book.”
Because she didn’t want to upset her kids, another mom may have hidden how much she was struggling. But Pam chooses to tell them about her experience. Her children discovered that issues are something that everyone must cope with and that, with grit and perseverance, problems can be faced head-on.
