Teaching kids about entrepreneurship

My daughter, Brielle, started asking me for money early on. By the time she turned two she was already quite persistent, regularly insisting that she needed money for ice cream, for carousel rides, for toys, crayons, etc. While I wouldn’t always oblige, the questions still came pretty frequently.

She’s 6-years-old now and after a few years of that, believe it or not, she has actually stopped. No, it didn’t come with age, nor did she learn to ask for money from her other relatives.

I suppose she just had an “a-ha moment.”

The catalyst was when she started her own business, The Kiddo-preneur Bazaar, a bazaar where kids themselves are the ones selling.

The idea for this came last year. She was learning about money in school and she asked me if I could help her start her own business and I said yes.

Initially, the plan was for a little lemonade stand, something quick, easy to execute and temporary, but it eventually mushroomed into something bigger.

Since we didn’t have a venue for this type of business, I helped her set one up, not just for her, but also for all the other kids out there who want to try their hand at entrepreneurship early on.

Our first foray into this took place last Dec. 4, 2011 at The Rockwell Club in Makati. The turnout was astounding and the bazaar was jam-packed from start to finish loaded with hundreds of kid entrepreneurs, their families, and their friends.

It was great to see kids from different age groups setting up and decorating their booths, talking to customers, distributing change, and ultimately earning their own money!

One group of little boys stood out in particular. Their booth, “Cookies for a Cause” earned a cool P102,000 in sales that day!

Mind you, they sold boxes of cookies worth P100 each for just about five hours. I guess customers just couldn’t resist their charms and the good nature of their business (they donated their proceeds to their chosen charity, CRIBS).

The kid entrepreneurs were so thrilled, so eager, so dedicated and by the end of the day, extremely tired. I even overheard one little boy say to his dad, “Dad, I’m so tired.  Work is so hard. Now I understand why you are so tired when you come home and why sometimes you can’t make it home for dinner.” The dad looked as if his heart was about to melt and he gave his son a big pat on the back for a job well done.

Now, while Brielle my 6-year-old never asks me for money as blatantly as she used to, she still does ask money-oriented questions. These questions however, have taken an entirely different tone since she’s now conscious about price and whether or not the item she wants is indeed worth the amount it costs.

As a mom, I’m just happy that she now understands the value of hard work and that money doesn’t grow on trees!

The next Kiddo-preneur Bazaar will be on Saturday, April 14 at the Tents at Aphaland Southgate Mall (Edsa corner Chino Roces Ave.). If you’d like your child to join please contact [email protected] or 09175800216.

As an added bonus we’re giving the first 35 registered booths one slot each to a Philippine Stock Exchange sponsored field trip to the Makati bourse on March 30. Bell ringing simulations, games, prizes, and a cartoon screening on investing await this lucky batch of Kiddo-preneurs!

(The author is a business journalist for The ABS-CBN News Channel. She anchors the stock market reports and ANC’s Business Nightly.)