Nurturing Business Leaders At Early Age

Life does not come to a standstill after the Corona breakdown; the world is changing more speedily than ever before. The survival of people and institutions depends very much on immunity, and to strengthen it, innovations are happening day and night. Children are no exception to the current scenario, and to make them future-ready, they should be taught about real-world opportunities and challenges. Schoolchildren must know about the concepts and skills mandatory to grow and succeed in the coming era. In this context, nothing can be a better option than an entrepreneurship programme for kids that successfully infuse and groom a multitude of skills such as leadership, managerial, creative, and communication skills. 

Need for entrepreneurial traits in kids

Many internationally acclaimed magazines such as Fortune have already started acknowledging incredibly young entrepreneurs in the “18 under 18” category. Soon the business world will also celebrate the leadership of kids as young as 7 or 6-year-old. Today, with the digitalisation of education, easy accessibility to smart technologies, and disruptions in the means of communications, a child can easily pursue a junior entrepreneurship/MBA programme. There they adopt and cultivate certain leadership qualities that others learn after years of toil and struggle. In fact, teaching entrepreneurship to children should come under the school curriculum, but limited resources and conventional educational approach are the big hurdles in this direction. Fortunately, with some great efforts of private players, entrepreneurship programmes for kids are going to be the next trailblazers in India’s education ecosystem. 

Benefits of entrepreneurship courses

Well-researched and holistic entrepreneurship or business administration course for kids teaches them essential life skills and helps them realise their true potential. They learn through exploring market opportunities, building a business plan, studying feasibility reports, making ad campaigns, and presenting reports with the team, which is all about practical learning. Surprisingly, concepts of sales, finance, market research, people management, etc., not only prepare kids for owning a business but also equip them with the soft skills and hardcore business knowledge required to achieve success in any field they ultimately choose. And, the earlier they become well-versed with the practical world, the better impact they can make on future dynamics.  

The exposure they receive whilst pursuing the entrepreneurship course empowers them with better confidence, willingness to take initiatives, and logic-based decision-making. Various mathematical concepts and formulae they learn in school prove useful when children apply them to record transactions and calculate incomes and expenses. Some other potential benefits that a child receives while taking an entrepreneur programme are discussed below. 

Work ethics and resource management

Even in their formative years, children start realising the value of resources such as people, money, and time. With their involvement as a contributor to society, they understand the importance of others and why they should cooperate with team members. This understanding makes them a real asset to society. Simultaneously, they learn the management and improvisation of resources in the interest of team and organisation above all.  On a broader canvas, it is the development of a positive mindset that prepares him/her for future responsibilities in both social and professional spheres.   

Creativity and innovations 

As mentioned earlier, the survival of an individual or organisation in the utterly competitive era is possible unless one is the producer of innovative ideas and solutions. Creativity and innovations are seamlessly linked to each other, the former is the source of creative excellence and the latter is the outcome of inventive excellence. During the SWOT analysis of a brand, a student comes across many aspects that triggered his/her creative and innovative senses. 

In a nutshell

Hence, an entrepreneurship programme for kids arms them with a leader’s mindset, innovative thinking, managerial aptitude, and problem-solving skills. Such programmes also sensitise them about the social impact of businesses and why society cannot prosper without their avid presence. Eventually, the business intel they garner while studying entrepreneurship helps them connect dots between their current roles and future goals. 

Nitin Viijay

Guest Author The author is Founder and CEO of Motion Education