Teen interest in entrepreneurism is at an all-time high. A recent survey revealed that 61%¹ of teens are considering starting a business over getting a regular job. Social media influencers inspire 37%¹, while 45%¹ want to learn more from business owners.

This is a promising trend in our technology-driven world, where future jobs may still need to be created, and knowing what roles we can prepare children and teens for is tricky.

Would you like to inspire your daughter to own a business one day, but you need help figuring out where to start? We can help.

From bringing kid business ideas to life to nurturing problem-solving skills, our comprehensive article below explores the importance of fostering the mindset of an entrepreneur and explains how to mentor your budding business owner.

Entrepreneurship isn't just about making money. It fosters an attitude that values creativity, curiosity, and problem-solving. By instilling these qualities in your child, you're preparing them for a future career and inspiring them to think innovatively and positively impact the world.

Entrepreneurship is about developing a great idea to help other people solve a problem and hopefully turn a profit. In this light, your child can examine her chores, hobbies, or anything else from her daily life to see if she can transform them into business success, like these two examples.

Piper Williams was a young entrepreneur who turned her dislike of underwear into a profitable idea. Although she preferred her brother's boxer shorts, the 4.5-year-old found they didn't fit right and set about developing her idea into a business: boxer shorts for girls. Despite her young age, Piper's determination and creativity led her to create Piper for Girls², now a family business.

Our fictional hero, Mia Madison, has developed two businesses: a pet-sitting business, Have-A-Nice-Vacation, and a seasonal lemonade stand, Pack Some Punch Stand. She creates a third business when she realizes other kids struggle to run their fledgling companies.

Children are naturally creative, even from a very young age. Scientists³  say children who remain creative are better at solving problems and being innovative. They also tend to be more resilient, less anxious, and even better able to express their feelings.

However, as children grow, their creativity level shrinks. A famous longitudinal study⁴ shows precisely how much. Professor George Land⁵ tested the creativity of 1,600 children using his NASA test to help select innovative engineers and scientists. In the test, he challenged applicants to study a problem or object and devise solutions or ways to use the object.

He tested children at age five, retested them five years later, and again at age fifteen. Then, he used the same test on 200,000 adults. The results were astonishing. At age 5, 98%⁴  of children scored the creative genius level. At age 10, this score had declined to 30%⁴; at age 15, it was only 12%⁴. The adults scored a dismal 2%⁴.

Why is the difference so stark? Land argues that when it comes to creativity, there are two types of thinking processes: convergent thinking, which uses your conscious mind to judge and refine ideas, and divergent thinking, where your subconscious mind imagines original and new ideas.

In school, we teach children to use both ways of thinking simultaneously, which means getting competing neurons to fight each other.

Keep your child creative by letting her develop ideas and evaluate them later to see which ones work best. How?

Allow lots of free play with open-ended toys. Carlsson-Paige⁶, the author of Taking Back Childhood, recommends⁷ setting up a dedicated play area with thrift store hats, scarves, jewelry, boxes, old newspapers, and lots of building materials, like blocks.

Promote curiosity by asking lots of open-ended questions to encourage kids to explore different solutions to problems.

Above all, build confidence in your child's creative skills by showing interest in her innovative solutions and model being creative.

An astonishing 90%⁸ of employers look for problem-solving skills in potential workers, but teaching your daughter how to find solutions is more than a one-and-done conversation. Instead, you can use many activities to help her think strategically and develop strong problem-solving skills.

Here's how:
1. Frame failure as an opportunity rather than a setback
If you fail at something, be calm and discuss with your child how to fix it, if appropriate. When we model sound coping mechanisms, children will take note.

2. Model problem-solving behavior by discussing your thought process
3. Ask your daughter how she'd solve a problem
For example, if her tower keeps falling, enquire how she can solve the issue. Ask her for different solutions and try them all out. Afterward, discuss the solutions so she can understand the process.

Like financial literacy, leadership skills are beneficial for all children, and definitely for future entrepreneurs. A great way to teach leadership skills to kids is to assign them responsibilities, like looking after a pet. As with teaching anything, lead by example by making fair decisions and showing confidence in your daily activities.

Ready to foster your child's entrepreneurial mindset? Our complete guide above reveals practical strategies and insights to get you started.