Will all our kids be entrepreneurs?

These days there is a big hype about entrepreneurship. The global recession caused thousands worldwide to lose their jobs and their homes and people found themselves trapped in unemployment.

Middle aged folks find it much harder to get another job, especially in a dwindling economy. There has been huge exodus from poorer countries to wealthier countries in search of better prospects. And there has been a surge of start-ups pretty much everywhere.

I’m a firm believer that from necessity comes innovation. The biggest motivator in human history is the absolute need for something to change.

When I look back to my student years all I can remember is that I had to study hard for my exams, that there were loads of things to memorise and that I had really long wonderful summers.

But if you ask me about the subject matter of what I studied, I can hardly tell you a thing. Before anyone jumps to any conclusion of what I may be saying here, I want to make clear that I think going to university is a great thing. Not only young adults develop maturity and expand their horizons, it also teaches us to use our mind in different ways and, of course, learn a lot of new things.

But what I also do think is that a University education is sometimes overrated. When we are kids and we think of what we want to be when we grow up we think of professions that will make us happy. And then somewhere along the way that changes to choosing professions that will make us money.

I believe that if kids follow a studying path of something they absolutely love (whether university level or not) then they will be better equipped to achieve both – happy fulfilled careers and financial stability.

I had a friend in Uni that wanted to be a vet. She was studying IT because she didn’t get into Veterinary Medicine and so her parents “motivated” her to go into IT because “you will find a nice job”.

She lasted 1 year and then changed to Marketing. She finished her degree but never found a proper job in that area. Instead, she works in a pharmacy 6 days a week, 12 hours a day.

Had she pursued anything remotely related to veterinary, she might still be working as hard but I’m sure she would be  happier.

Where am I getting with all of this? My point is that we should encourage our kids to follow their passion. They may have more than one and that is great. Let them explore their options and find their way. If it means they will go all the way to Uni and be a doctor or a lawyer, great. If it means they will chase a career in acting or painting that’s alright too. And then there are those that have light bulb fantastic ideas and what to develop them. The best time to be an entrepreneur is when you are young and have no kids to feed and hardly any bills to pay. As parents we should support them in that. Even if they fail they will gain a wealth of experience and they can always go and find “a proper job”.

Life is short but it also has lots of turns and twists. The best thing we can do for our kids is to tell them that it’s ok to follow their dreams, that every experience is valuable and that the money will come.

I thank my Parents all the time that they did exactly that with me.