I just commented on a blog thread at Inc. Magazine titled “Revitalizing the American Dream”. It talked about needing more start-ups and how we should foster that as a nation. Several suggestions focused on college preparation and means to open doors for entrepreneurs. My comment focused on starting much earlier in the process.
The latest from the Kauffman Foundation found that the highest rate of new business growth in the last 14 years happened in 2009, which was the worst economic year in 77 years. Teaching entrepreneurism is a challenge. I know, because I was an entrepreneur and I teach at the college level and volunteer at NFTE. Rather than teach entrepreneurism, I think the real term is prepare individuals for entrepreneurism. These classes are great for those who are pursuing entrepreneurism, but many entreprenueurs are accidental in how they start their journey. Laying the foundation for entrepreneurism needs to start much earlier and requires a societal change.
Our American society has become so regimented, planned and predictable that it almost excludes the very notion of entrepreneurism. Kids are “patterned” to go to school, progress to the next level, attend extracurricular activities and follow the prescribed ideal routine. Don’t get me wrong, my three kids have followed the same pattern. What I found lacking, that I had in my childhood, was the ability and freedom to explore. Unfortunately, our kids are tethered to their parents and never out of sight. Entrepreneurism is about breaking out of the routine and the ordinary to do the extraordinary. It’s about taking planned risk to do something that has not been done before. It’s about seeing an opportunity when others don’t to solve a problem that exists.
It is encouraging to see that the highest rate of entrepreneurial growth in 14 years happened during our worst economic times. It shows as a country we still have the vision and guts to start a business when others are only see doom and gloom. It shows we still are taking chances and coloring outside of the lines.
When people discuss how to foster or grow the next generation of entrepreneurs, it starts at home and in the community. Give kids time and opportunities to explore on their own. Allow them to make mistakes and fall in the mud. Structure a classroom that changes. Incorporate kids in establishing goals and to a degree their curriculum. Plant the seeds early in developing an eye to seek opportunity and to solve problems.
You know today, every kid wins a trophy when they play park district sports. It’s an expectation to get a trophy at season end – regardless of performance and effort. Maybe we’ve made our environment too easy and too predictable?
To gain other perspectives on entrepreneurism get the book, I.D.E.A. to Exit: An Entrepreneurial Journey. Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble on line and www.jeffweberventures.com