Entrepreneurship for the Little Ones ― An Exciting Challenge!

At bedtime, my spouse and I will always share a brief moment of quality time with each of our daughters (respectively four and six years old) under the comforting glow of the children's nightlight. We sing songs, make riddles or enjoy chatting. Although riddles tend to rate high in preference, variety is a must!

Lately, I’ve been using the theme of “trades and occupations,” starting (of course) with those professions that touch on the child’s imaginary more vividly, or those to which a child can easily relate. This gave me a lot of good food for thought as I quickly ran out of ideas. It occurred to me that there are so many jobs out there that are rewarding but often little-known! This made me wonder: How can I expose my daughters to the multiple pathways available to them in the future? At the same time, I could not help but think of those young people within my own circle, many of whom undertake post-secondary studies without the slightest motivation towards a specific career path for the future, or awareness of what they are skilled or passionate about. Yet, they have so much potential. It seems that all that’s missing is a kick-starter!

Within this context, I was excited to hear of the Grande Journée des Petits Entrepreneurs. On June 28, 2014, children between the ages of 5 and 12 years will explore and experience entrepreneurship in a practical context. This involves nothing more complicated than setting up a lemonade stand or selling handmade rubber band bracelets. However, just doing it all at the same time ― using interactive mapping based on Google Maps, as well as increased visibility through a mini kit for the mini entrepreneur ― will create a ripple and mobilizing effect. In addition to overseeing production, quality assurance and marketing, the young participants get to pocket some of the well-deserved profits from their sales and have a unique experience that will not fail to inspire one and all!

Our society is in great need of entrepreneurs as they are initiative takers who create their own job. But that’s not all! Their passion brings with it direct and indirect economic benefits that have the potential to be an important economic driver. The problem here is that too few youth are engaged early on into thinking about entrepreneurship as a potential career path option. All the more so since they must learn to believe in themselves and make use of their creativity. And what better way to do just that than by means of a supervised professional experience? With this in mind, June 28 may very well turn out to be a kick-starter for the future.

That is the spirit in which it was mutually agreed that the girls would get into the greeting cards business! Mom’s looking forward to seeing the little ones when they set up their gear on the lawn and do business! The event can be followed (in French only) via the following: www.petitsentrepreneurs.ca, @grandejournee (Twitter) and facebook.com/petitsentrepreneurs.