10 Entrepreneurial Skills That Should Be Taught at an Early Age

There are certain entrepreneurial skills that should be taught to children at an early age.

Entrepreneurship-focused activities and programs can help prepare your child for the challenges they are going to face in college, career, and beyond.

In this article, we will share ten entrepreneurial skills that should be taught at an early age, as well as a few important reasons to get started right now.

 

Why You Should Teach Entrepreneurial Skills to Your Children

Prepare for the future job market

Today’s students face an uncertain future full of complex global and socioeconomic challenges, including a rapidly-changing job market.

According to the 2017 Future of Jobs report by the World Economic Forum, nearly 50% of companies expect that automation will lead to some reduction in their full-time workforce by 2022.

This is going to fundamentally alter the types of roles and work environments our students will face after graduation.

Your child’s future job may not have even been invented yet - which means they will need to know how to quickly acquire new skills and adapt to new environments after they graduate.

Entrepreneurial skills, such as resilience, industriousness, and problem-solving are going to be incredibly valuable for this learning process, and therefore should be taught at an early age.

 

Improve goal-setting abilities

Goal-setting keeps you inspired, motivated, and focused on your future success. 

It gives you both the long-term vision and short-term motivation to make it happen.

Entrepreneurial skills, such as problem-solving and leadership, go hand-in-hand with goal-setting skills.

Entrepreneurship teaches children to always have a long-term outlook - then break big goals down into smaller, more manageable goals.

Entrepreneurship-focused activities can also teach children how to recover when they fail to meet a goal of theirs.

 

Learn difficult subject matters

Participating in entrepreneurship-focused activities and programs makes you a more efficient learner.

The problem-solving skills, combined with entrepreneurial determination and perseverance, can help you work through even the most difficult problems.

If children are taught these entrepreneurial skills at an early age, they will be able to master difficult subject matters much more quickly.

 

Gain a better understanding of how to make money

Entrepreneurship teaches children they need to provide value to get something of value in return.

While some may argue that a pay-for-chores system accomplishes the same thing as entrepreneurship activities, these types of systems only teach kids to do what they already should be doing - not something that adds value to the lives of others.

 

10 Entrepreneurial Skills That Should Be Taught at an Early Age 

 

1. Self-esteem.

Your child’s self-esteem reflects how they feel about themselves and contributes to the way they view the world.

Studies have shown that low self-esteem in adolescent years results in poor mental and physical health, decreased economic prospects, and increased levels of dangerous behavior.

 

2. Resilience.

Can your child be resilient when things don’t go as planned?

Everyone needs to learn how to experience failure - then get up, learn from it, and try again.

Entrepreneurs rarely succeed on the first try, which makes entrepreneurship-focused activities perfect for building resilience in children.

 

3. Industriousness.

An individual is considered industrious if they demonstrate perseverance and determination in performing a task.

Robert Eisenberger developed a “learned industriousness” theory to explain the differences in general work effort among people of equal ability.

Individuals with high levels of industriousness apply greater effort towards tasks, making them more successful at achieving their goals.

 

4. Problem-solving.

Tomorrow’s problems don’t have answers that can be found in a textbook.

Problem-solving (and before that, problem identification) should be an integral part of your child’s education.

 

5. Innovation & creativity.

Creativity and problem-solving go hand-in-hand.

Real-world problem-solving requires creative, out-of-the-box thinking.

Entrepreneurs are often faced with problems that require innovative solutions, which makes entrepreneurship-focused activities ideal for developing your child’s critical thinking skills.

 

6. Curiosity.

Before your child can be creative, she needs to develop curiosity about the world around her.

She also needs to find the courage to express that curiosity by asking questions and finding other ways to learn about the world.

 

7. Empathy.

Empathy helps us understand others and see how our behavior may affect those around us.

It makes us better listeners, communicators, and negotiators, which is essential for gaining acceptance from our peers and becoming true leaders.

 

8. Optimism.

While having a realistic outlook is important, a healthy sense of optimism can help you get through the tough times.

Chances are, your child will have to face daunting challenges in tomorrow’s world.

Knowing how to maintain a positive outlook will help her see past her immediate struggles while continuing to work on her goals.

 

9. Leadership.

Successful leaders need to be able to both do great work and motivate others to do the same.

In addition, they need to understand how to work within a team and delegate their tasks efficiently.

 

10. Grit.

The entrepreneurial journey both demands and teaches true grit.

One of the world’s leading psychologists and best-selling authors, Angela Duckworth, defines grit as “passion and perseverance for a long-term goal.”

According to her research, success is not about talent or luck.

Both of those things matter, but having a single goal that organizes and gives meaning to everything you do - and holding steadfast to that goal - is the primary determinant of success in the modern world.

 

Why Choose Marlborough

Marlborough is exclusively devoted to the education of young women. 

We believe in teaching girls entrepreneurial skills at an early age in order to help them navigate the challenging landscape of tomorrow’s world with courage and confidence.

Here at Marlborough, we don’t just teach girls to keep pace with the changing future.

Instead, we teach them to boldly pursue ideas which set the pace for the future.

 

Your Next Steps 

There are certain entrepreneurial skills that should be taught to every child at an early age.

The best place to learn them? An entrepreneurship-focused program at the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Marlborough.

Want to learn more about the Marlborough experience?

Get in touch now