The millennial students of today are entirely unlike any generation that came before. The harbingers of the information age, these young adults have never cracked open an encyclopedia, never been anchored to the kitchen wall by a phone cord and have never had to rewind a VHS tape. To the millennial, the Internet is commonplace. Information is free and limitless. To the millennial, anything is possible.
It's no surprise, then, that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well within this generation. According to Buzz Marketing Group's 2014 study, 87 percent of millennials plan to pursue a form of entrepreneurship at some point in their lives. Entrepreneurship, though, is not present within most school curriculum, and as a homeschooling parent, Company Startup 101 may be lacking from your repertoire. So how do you educate and cultivate your students in the field of entrepreneurship? Although there is no magic lesson plan that guarantees success, you can prepare millennials by using the advice and insights of pioneers that came before to counsel them.
Lesson 1: Expect Rejection
Perhaps the most important concept to understand when entering into the world of business creation is that rejection is simply part of the process. One of the most recognized names in online journalism, Arianna Huffington, could not get a publisher to pick up her second book. Thirty-six publishing houses rejected the manuscript in Huffington's formative years. Decades later, The Huffington Post is one of the most read news outlets on the web. Fear of rejection is a normal human reaction, and is likely more intensely present in young students, but assure them that even though it can sting like a scorpion, rejection only makes them stronger.
Lesson 2: Harness Your Passion
Explain that entrepreneurs succeed when their fledgling businesses align with their established skills and passions. If your young entrepreneur loves computer games, steer her in the direction of game development. If he is crazy about comic books, there is an entire, specific market out there waiting for him. For example, Milton Hershey, who had three candy companies fold before he could actualize his dream of making chocolate available to everyone, went on to create some of the most famous and affordable chocolate products with his establishment of The Hershey Company in 1894.
Lesson 3: Practice Makes Perfect
Especially for teenage students, walking into a job is a rarity and stumbling upon a working business plan right out of high school is even more unlikely. So how can millennials get valuable work experience if they can't get a job? You can encourage your teenage children to try freelance work that offers career development opportunities, like those found with Amway. Different from interning, freelancing actually pays, so they can earn income and learn the tricks of the trade pertaining to their planned business venture.
Many of us dreamed of being our own bosses, but the likelihood of that dream coming to fruition was slim in our day. This is not the case for our children. Sixty percent of them already consider themselves entrepreneurs with working ideas, according to a Rasmussen College infographic. So with a little help and guidance, anything really is possible.
Jayme Cook is a writer, English professor, zombie fanatic, maniacal reader, and Oxford comma enthusiast living in Phoenix.
