Will Richardson

Speaker, consultant, writer, learner, parent

Hey Kids, Invent Your Own Jobs

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Thomas Friedman today in the Times:

It has never been harder to find a job and never been easier — for those prepared for this world — to invent a job or find a customer.

I have a love/hate with Friedman because it kills me the way he turns everything into a catch phrase, but this resonates. Especially the “those prepared for this world” part. The parent in me latches on to that. When I look at my kids, I’m hoping to see entrepreneurs, ready to create and add value and be able to create a living on their guile and grit and passion. Not sure I see that yet. Hoping their mom and I will rub off on them.

But, their schools helpin’ them with that? Uh…notsomuch. They’re preparing them to work for someone else. After all, that’s what they do in class.

How to Raise an Entrepreneur

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How do you get kids ready to become entrepreneurs? The classic answer, of course, is the lemonade stand: Encourage your kids to start a homespun business instead of just bugging you for money. But entrepreneurs and educators say the real solution goes much deeper than that. There are crucial psychological traits an entrepreneur needs to succeed, they say, and parents should help kids develop them at every opportunity.

I wonder how much an effect the fact that both Wendy and I are self-employed will have on our kids. As this article suggests, I hope that it gives them some sense of the possibilities to create their own livelihoods.