Cameron Herold’s Ted Talk “Let’s raise kids to be entrepreneurs” is interesting, it makes me challenge the way I was taught to save, how I was paid for the jobs I did, and how even a business degree doesn’t prepare you to run your own business.
I don’t agree with all Cameron’s comments, I think all kids should be taught these entrepreneur life skills then they can’t be conned by the entrepreneur employer who sells their paper round but still collects the tips without doing any work. Then these entrepreneurial kids can be taught how to value and care for the people they hire and maybe we wouldn’t have a world full of disenchanted employees in jobs that suck.
No one wants to be told what to do, no one wants to be stuck in a job they hate, but yes society grooms us for employment, for corporate jobs, and and I agree that no one is grooming us to to be entrepreneurs and worse no one is teaching us how get the best out of people.
Hiring a tutor in areas where you are failing is a case in point, this isn’t limited to school education, employers want us to be well rounded, they want to round off the edges of square pegs to fit in there corporately rounded holes. Instead of resourcing to maximise strengths in their teams they send people on training courses to bridge the knowledge gap. Yet as Cameron points out that as entrepreneurs and business owners you outsource the stuff you aren’t good at, or the stuff you don’t enjoy doing. You put your best resources where you need them. Perhaps this is way so many new entrepreneurs struggle in those first few years of business where they think they have t do it all, that they have to be good at everything, that outsourcing is a weakness – listen to how Cameron hired kids to do his newspaper round and you might change your mind.
The only life experience I can think of that encourages entrepreneurial thinking is sports – if you show potential as an athlete you hire a coach, you have a strategic game plan and use your resources to win. You strive to be the best you can be and your support team hold you up and cheer you on, everyone wants you to be the best you can be too.
I wouldn’t want my son or daughter to be that annoying kid that’s always knowing on your door trying to sell you something, or constantly selling stuff to their friends, it is important to know your market and sell to those who want to buy – understanding supply and demand, a captured audience, customers who buy in to what you do (I love the loyalty of the bridge playing ladies) and the importance of recurring revenue.
I like his approach to money and that he is teaching his kids not to expect a regular pay check, how to negotiate, how to find opportunities, and the importance of investment. Not just saving but investment. All too often we are told we are good with money if we save it. But we are not taught how to make our money work for us, we soul deb taught that making money is being good with money.
My favourite takeaway from this TED Talk is that you need to think about something that no one else is thinking about. Do things differently, doo thins your way, don’t just copy what works for others.
What are you doing differently today?
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A great viewpoint in how we teach children to work in business both corporately and self employment.
Interesting stance on both sides! Having the entrepreneur mentality helps in a 9-5 office job too because each individual employee should be in charge of his/her own career path in that company.