1) START EARLY. Have conversations with your children about what is exciting to them. What sort of things are they interested in? Encourage their intelligence at a young age by discovering what your kids are excited about.
2) TALK ABOUT VALUES. Discuss with your kids what's important in life. You'll be encouraged by what values they already know: share, give someone else a turn, play fair, listen. When you know all of your children's values, write them on a board and place them in a place of prominence. Your kids have just described their corporate values.
3) WHAT LEADERSHIP STYLE DOES YOUR CHILD HAVE. Whether you think so or not, every child is a leader. Some are more natural and others are developed. Use your individual child's assets to build their leadership platform.
4) TRY SOME THINGS OUT. Encourage your children to try different things out. It will take some trial and error to find a plan or product that throws them into entrepreneurship.
5) ASK SOME BUSINESS QUESTIONS. Once you've decided on a product, where do you go from there? Ask your kids to think through the next steps. What materials are needed? What about inventory? Where will your products come from (suppliers and vendors)? How will you pay for these products (raising capital and managing budgets)?
6) DEVISE A BUSINESS PLAN. Have your kids write a one to two page plan that answers some vital questions: What business are they in? Who will their customers be? How will the customers find out about their company? How am I different? By defining specifics about their product, customers, and competition, your kids will learn more about their strengths.
7) SOUND THE ALARMS. Develop a marketing plan with your kids. Get them involved in the sales. Let them feel as if there are no limits.
8) MAKE A COMMERCIAL. Your kids watch TV and they are fully aware what commercials are. They know how to sell. Get the video camera rolling and shoot a video commercial. Whether or not you use it is of little importance. It's a fun way to explain marketing techniques to your kids and it also helps to boost their confidence.
9) UTILIZE THE INTERNET. Kids are very internet savvy these days. Kids learn a lot about the internet at an early age. Help them build a website, send out press releases announcing their new company, and teach them internet marketing strategies.
10) GIVE BACK. Teach you kids about social responsibility and how they envision themselves giving back. Have a conversation about whether they volunteer in their spare time or set aside a portion of proceeds from their company to give to charity. This is ultimately what is the most important thing: Developing a good human being.