Are your kids launching lemonade stands yet?
Forget Gen Y. It is the world of Gen Z and kids launching ventures. The lemonade stand was just the proverbial venture most kids would launch but I bet you, the next big thing is going to come from our kids launching "lemonade stands" that turn out to be the next big things.
Take my daughter for example - she is thirteen now. Last summer, she came to me and said "Daddy, this is what I am launching". My eyes popped out of my head - she had a real business idea about to be launched online with just an investment of paper, cardboard and a few glue sticks that she had got from her art teacher and really no supervision. She needed me to activate her online account because she couldn't do it herself due to age restrictions. Since then, she has launched THREE ventures, all online, two of which are already profitable and working on her fourth and now talking about M&A to merge them (yes, she used that term). We had to refocus her onto her studies, just to be practical.
Taking inspiration from her, my son has been designing casual games. It all started with Star Wars and lightsaber fight scenes. He is going strong. He is just seven and too early for business models but he says he will sell "difficult game levels" and make money. I am learning strategy lessons from him.
So how can we parents help our kids launch "lemonade stands"?
1. Encourage them to IMAGINE - Einstein said that "Imagination is more important than knowledge". How true! We spend a lot of time together talking about "space aliens", "Michael Angelo" and how he became famous and also Bill Gates and how he changed the world.
2. Storytelling: I used to read to my daughter and we would create fictional stories and draw together. I guess that was time well spent. With my son, we are onto "cat stories" on how cats can do fascinating things when you are not watching.
3. Be their Chief Evangelist and drink their lemonade: When my daughter launched online, I said to myself that I need to be her biggest proponent. I started marketing her venture to friends and family. One my uncles became our first paid customers!
So, are your kids launching their own "lemonade stands" yet? Enjoy the summer with them.