by Hope
When I first had kids, I always thought they would follow in my footsteps. I thought they would graduate high school, go to college, maybe go to grad school and then begin their lives and their careers…
It wasn’t until the twins came into our lives that I began to rethink that and realize that not everyone’s path should or needs to include college. It was a hard pill to swallow at first as that is how I was raised.
But over the now 9 years that the twins have been part of our family, I have really come to embrace that everyone’s path will be different and not always what I expect and that is okay. Even more than that, it is good and it is for the best.
Another Entrepreneur in the Family
So when Gymnast first began talking about how he is going to be rich and how he’s going to buy this and that and the other, well, in my head, I always pictured him going to college and then…or maybe becoming a professional athlete and then…or maybe becoming an actor because anyone who knows him, knows how important an audience is…
What I didn’t picture was him starting a business at 15. But after months of talking and pushing and him pushing back…well, I am stepping out of the way.
This past month, he has taken the first steps to starting a business…
- He laid out his plan to me.
- He worked up the numbers. And then worked them up again after I pointed out some holes.
- He designed a logo and collected the data and content he would need for a website.
- He researched the product, the process, the supplies, the how tos, the everything.
- He priced everything.
- He added everything to an Amazon cart.
- I bought him a domain name ($15 investment) built him an ecommerce website. (And hosted it for free because I’m his mom.)
- He ordered all the supplies he needs to get started, using every penny of his savings ($300). I finally acquiesced.
- We launched his website last weekend. And his supplies will begin arriving this week.
I will be honest, I have no idea if his idea will succeed or fail. But I realized that I needed to get out of the way and let him take a shot. Here’s to the next generation of entrepreneurs, may they think big, work hard and be amazing successes at whatever they choose to pursue!
Hope is a creative, solutions-focused business manager helping clients grow their business and work more efficiently by leveraging expertise in project management, digital marketing, & tech solutions. She’s recently become an empty nester as her 5 foster/adoptive kids have spread their wings. She lives with her 5 dogs in a small town in NE Georgia and prefers the mountains to the beaches any day. She struggles with the travel bug and is doing her best to help each of her kids as their finish schooling and become independent (but it’s hard!) She has run her own consulting company for almost twenty years! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally in a place to really focus on making wise financial decisions.
This will be such a great experience. Whatever the outcome the win will be the experience and learning. Its like they say if you have never failed then you have never tried anything hard(or something like that). Great idea.
Good luck to Gymnast !
Yes, we have to support our kids’ dreams, even if they aren’t our dreams.
Although I have accepted that one of mine didn’t go to college, I still believe in a liberal arts education. I think there is a lot to be learned at the university level that doesn’t necessarily correlate to career advancement.
I’m happy he convinced you to let him try. Right now he’s at home so his risk is minimal and even if he fails, our failures are learning experiences that help us when we do succeed.
For the record, my kid didn’t attend college and made it past downsizing when some college grads did not at his company. Education is important but is not limited to classrooms at colleges and should not necessarily seen as job security.
Yes, I am definitely embracing the idea of a four year school not being for everyone.
But I do think that people need some sort of specialized skills…whether formally taught or picked up from experience.
2 of my boys were the same. Always saying they were going to rich when they grew up. They also happen to be my two that went to college and got their degrees. However, neither one of them are in the business they got their degrees in. They have grown up to be very successful, but in real estate. Between owning a few businesses they have bought for very cheap and are low maintenance, their real estate investing, and now they both have their real estate and brokers license and have opened their own real estate firm, they have done pretty good for themselves.
Good for you letting gymnast follow his business adventure. As I’m sure you know, not a lot of people think of the ins and outs of owning their own business. With your assistance, he will do good. But let him make those decisions. If he succeeds; fantastic. If he fails, on to the next adventure. But never give up.
I’d love for him to go into real estate. Unfortunately, none of my kids have had a great example of maintaining a home. The twins are just starting to pick up some of those skills by watching You Tube videos.
But I’m not much use at teaching them the tools or skills needed to help with real estate maintenance.
I would suggest that they look to see if there’s a tax lien seminar or something of the sort in your area. The way tax liens work is, the county once or twice a year will gather all of the properties that owe taxes and place a lien on them. They then sell those liens at an event. The property has a certain amount of time to pay the lien with interest. If they don’t pay the lien, the person who holds that lien now becomes the property owner. It’s a win/win. You either get your money back with a higher interest rate than any savings account or you now own a property for way less than if you had purchased it.
It’s one of the easiest ways to own property with little money invested. Wholesaling is another way. If they are truly interested, a class or a mentor is the best way.