Do This Instead of Making Your Kids Study and Stay Off the Internet

Have you heard the news that higher education is in question? Yeah, The New York Times says so, in End the University as We Know It.

Maybe you have heard the news. But you are still telling your kids that their best bet for success in life is to study for the next test, get good grades, go to college, rack up the $100,000 in debt... for the good cause of a safe financial landing that may or may not ever materialize.

Or maybe you are beginning to raise your own questions about what's best for your kids. I know I am. And it's got me in a bit of turmoil, to be honest.

When I'm in this kind of sticky spot, I often take a two-pronged approach. Which means my kids are studying and are (for now) thinking that college is non-negotiable.

But on the side, I've opened up a new path of inquiry. What if? What if higher education isn't going to be their best bet for success? What should I be doing to prepare for that possibility?

As you know, I am answering that partly by pursuing Kids in Business, an informal program between us girls, to teach them about entrepreneurism.

Somewhere along their high school way, I'm also going to ask them to read The Education of Millionaires.

Jane Friedman sold me on this title, and now the book itself sold me, and after that I just bought something else:

Domain names for each of my girls, using their true names. Because if their internet brand is going to be their ticket (as opposed to their education-laden resume), then they are going to need their own internet real estate, with their names on the door.

That is one of the suggestions in this excellent, excellent book.

What are you waiting for? Get your kids on the internet in the way they need to be. Teach them how to make a Google trail that will someday sell them to employers or help them have a successful freelance or other business.

Don't let education be their sole end.



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from the New York Times: A Generation Hobbled by the Soaring Cost of College

Kids in Business: The Insurance Adjuster Wins

Our first Kids in Business meeting—with spur-of-the-moment guest Lyla Lindquist—was awesome. Lyla is an insurance adjuster who runs her own business, and since she wasn't waylaid by any recent disasters, she made time for us on short notice. By the end of our meeting, I said I lost five pounds from all the laughing (and now we are thinking of how we might market Lyla as a weight-loss solution).

Besides hearing stories of old men who pretended to get run over or who lived in sub-zero trailers that got ransacked in the middle of nowhere, we learned about the relativity of correct business attire. (Jeans for burrowing under houses. Khakis for above-ground investigations of floods with left-over mold. Slacks for meetings with distressed parents whose children have been bowled over by rogue domestic animals.)

Pajamas, we learned, could potentially suffice as home office attire if they are t-shirts and sweats, but for reasons of focus and a basic sense of professionalism (and to avoid the overwhelming desire to nap between calls), we were told (and mostly agreed) that it is not a bad practice to actually get dressed every day (especially if you have no curtains on your windows).

Though every business is ultimately unique, and this was so evident in a discussion of insurance adjusting, one of the main takeaways from our time with Lyla was the idea that most businesses will be more profitable if you have:

1. knowledge in your area of interest
2. professional contacts (or an effective way to quickly obtain them)

We also discussed what makes a business different from a hobby:

1. it's not something you can just stop doing, because you are trying to make money from it
2. it's not something you can just stop doing, because you have spent money trying to make money from it

Of course you could walk away from a business. Instagram just did that, right? Okay, yes, for $1 billion from Facebook. 

As for the business of insurance adjustment, we learned that it helps to be:

1. braver than the mailman (German shepherds are not uncommon in the field)
2. faster than the mailman (scary and sometimes dangerous situations occasionally arise)
3. really funny or at least appreciative of found-humor (otherwise cynicism about old men who pretend to get run over might turn you into a grouchy person)

I figure it was a rousing success, because my girls would love to talk to Lyla again—about business or anything else she'd care to share. After all, both girls agreed that as far as story-telling goes, J.K. Rowling has got nothing on Lyla, except maybe a few more movies and a few less German shepherds to her name.

Kids in Business: The First Day

This morning I was feeling the need for business colleagues. Oh, I have plenty, really. But none that I see face to face.

As I was writing about this in my business journal, it suddenly occurred to me that maybe I *do* have colleagues, right here in my own home. I just need to think about them that way. Thus, our new Friday afternoon routine: Kids in Business.

The girls (12 and 14) and I will meet for one hour on Fridays and sometimes host guests. We are really looking forward to speaking with Claire Burge next Friday, for instance. And today, spur of the moment, Lyla Lindquist has graciously agreed to Skype with us.

I don't know where we'll go with all this, except that today we'll start to think about our direction together. I'm coming to the meeting with a a list of ideas. I'll share these with the girls and ask them to come up with more ideas.

So far, this is what I've got. It's just messy thoughts:

—read business articles or a chapter from a business book and discuss; maybe watch a TED Talk or other interesting video

—host fun entrepreneurs who can chat briefly with us

—teach skills like bookkeeping, how to run a meeting, how to use accounting software

—share our business dreams

—have the girls share some research they might do about other kids in business—or anyone in business, for that matter

—cover a host of important topics like financing, branding, marketing, selling, Internet meeting and connecting tools

—share about our respective business goals and accomplishments (the girls have a few non-income-producing "businesses," so we could start with these)

Both girls are happy with the idea (so far :) and they are even dressing up for the meeting. Sonia felt that it was important to look "creative," since we are dealing with entrepreneurship. Thus, her nail polish. In different colors. Sara is set to go too. (Look, she's already doing phone work in her fancy meeting clothes. Gotta love that desk, too. First benefit of working for yourself. You get to choose your own office equipment. ;-)