Being a small business owner requires far more than independence-it requires the more than dozen skills the author listed in the blog above. Katie and her husband decided those traits were worth cultivating in their children. If you decide those skills are not as valuable, you are free to abstain from teaching them to your children. Katie seems to be sharing her methodology so others can learn if they would like, not so random (childless?) individuals who have never tried what she’s describing can offer a half-hearted “eh, I don’t know about that”. Running a business may not be for everybody, but if you read the blogpost, you can see the traits she wants to instill in her children ARE for everybody; and she probably knows her children better than a stranger on the Internet (one with no prior experience training their own children in business) does. If you’ve never attempted something, your contemptuous evaluations re that topic are ignorant and irrelevant.

Great idea! I’ll try to put more detail into a guide.

This is wonderful. Thanks for sharing!

Yes, the book work for a high school diploma by that age. Though we won’t consider them officially done until they get through the business incubator.

I see the biggest difference in the “profitable” part. Hopefully we are all impacted in some way by art, sports and humanitarian work, but at the end of the day, we all need to eat. While a few are able to support themselves on their artistic or athletic skill, with the right training and support, just about anyone can start and run a successful business.

We start them off with using a basic spreadsheet, then as they get older move them up to Quickbooks…

The other things you mentioned are all part of their educational curriculum, as our goal is to create well rounded, competent, kind, and successful adults.

Of course every child is different and I’m not saying our system is right for everyone, but it’s what works for us. We’re never going to force our children down a path they don’t want to go, but we’re going to encourage them to think through and make choices that will benefit them in the long run. Being an entrepreneur or a business owner doesn’t necessarily mean never working for someone else, but it does entail hard work, self discipline, and creativity, which are all things we value and want to foster in our kids…

I usually agree with everything you say but I’m not sure about this one. Not every person has an entrepreneurial spirit and there’s nothing wrong with working for someone else. My two children are happy, well adjusted professionals but would never have responded well to your idea.
I like the idea of them having to work for privileges but every child is different.

Does this mean they would finish a high school degree by age 14? If so, how do you do that? And if not, then what do you mean?

Having said all that, I’m all for tying getting a cellphone and even a drivers license to being a responsible person!

They are both grown (23 and 24 years old), independent, have their own businesses (multiple income streams), manage their money carefully, and are resilient individuals. As their peers get battered around in today’s environment they are thankful we showed and encouraged a different path that gives them more control over lives.

Great questions! Until they start the business incubator, we focus more on personal and family finances and teaching them the basics. When they ask questions about business before that we give them detailed answers and share numbers so they can start to understand it. I haven’t written about our investment and savings flow but I have developed systems for these that I will share in a post soon.