Entrepreneurism is not merely about making money or setting up a business venture, it is about pursuing innovation and creativity. Successful entrepreneurs are taught more than just business and economics – they are taught how to be creative, proactive, innovative, optimistic and willing to take risks.
Teaching boys to create value for other people is at the heart of entrepreneurial education. Virgin Airline’s founder, Richard Branson, believes that entrepreneurship is about identifying a gap in the market and creating a product to fill that gap in order to make people’s lives better. This takes creativity, innovation and a fearless approach to new ideas. It is also important that your son adopts a high level of self-reliance, optimism and motivation to allow him to strive for excellence.
According to Forbes, entrepreneurship is a mindset not a position. It is precisely for this reason that fuelling your son’s entrepreneurial spirit is so important.
Below are five ideas that will help you learn how to fuel your son’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Volunteering
Encourage your son to give a helping hand at a local charity on the weekend. He could also in engage in other voluntary work such as setting up a free lemonade stand, car wash, offer to walk dogs in the local neighbourhood or mow lawns. Voluntary work will teach your son that there is more to entrepreneurism than just money. He will learn key skills in what it means to run a successful business too.
Set up a savings goal
Teach your son how to open a savings account and discuss the importance of making regular contributions. Sit down with your son and help him create a savings plan. This will help promote business intellect in your son’s life and will teach him how to manage income in years to come.
Take him to your workplace
Schedule a day to bring along your son to your workplace during the school holidays. This will provide your son with an insight of how a business is run and how your job makes an impact. Let your son shadow you and encourage him to take notes and ask questions. We already know the benefits of experiential learning and he will learn from you in a real world setting.
Stimulate his imagination
Encourage your son to play intellectual board games such as Monopoly, the Game of Life and Payday. Such games will teach him about the value of money and the importance of paying bills. This also provides an opportunity to have a break from technology.
Help him discover what he loves
Take note of the subjects that your son is enjoying at school or a book that he is currently reading. After school, ask your son what he learnt that day to create an open dialogue about his interests. If your son has a specific interest, encourage him to create his own business cards online or perform creativity exercises with a focus to develop his entrepreneurial spirit.
In 2017, Scots accepted the second intake of students into the Applied Entrepreneurship Program, an experiential education course. Students gain access to industry mentors, work on multi-disciplinary projects aimed toward solving real world problems, and conclude the program with a capstone international internship. Boys not only learn about entrepreneurship – they experience it firsthand as part of the program.
Download a copy of our prospectus and find out how your son can benefit from The Scots Advantage.
