by: AskPat 775 Episode Transcript
Pat Flynn: Hey, what's up everybody? This is Pat Flynn and welcome to Episode 775 of AskPat. Thank you so much for joining me today. As always, I'm here to help you by answering your online business questions, five days a week.
All right. Thanks so much, and here is today's question from Jeanette.
Jeannette: Hi Pat, I'm Jeanette Nyberg and I blog at www.CraftWhack.com, a creative lifestyle and humor blog. So, I kind of suck at being an entrepreneur but I love your podcast and have dreams of one day magically becoming good at it. Anyway, I have two kids and one of whom is thirteen and I keep thinking about ways to instill an entrepreneurial mindset in my kids and I've heard of people having their kids start business at some point, usually around thirteen or fourteen maybe, just to get them used to the idea and help them learn in that way. And I'm wondering if you've thought about that with your kids, and if so, do you have any tips on how to go about it or do you have any plans on how you're gonna do it? Thanks, and I love your show.
Pat Flynn: Hey Jeanette thank you so much for this question. I absolutely love this question and I think any of you who have listened to me on my show before, when I start talking about my kids, especially my son because he's a little bit older and is starting to get interested in what daddy does, I just love being able to share with him what I've learned. Just in this past eight years of my life as an entrepreneur and to see him start to adopt these strategies and mindsets and how he's applying them in his daily life and at school, it's just so cool. I think you know you had mentioned your kids are thirteen, that's a great age to start. I mean I started business when I was what, twenty-five. And I only wish that I had somebody teach me this stuff earlier.
So I think thirteen is a great age, earlier if possible for those of you who have younger kids. Totally, they soak things up like crazy. So there are of course different levels of entrepreneurship, I think at the age of thirteen one could actually have their child start a business of some kid and obviously teaching them the principles of business, I think when they're a little bit younger like my kids. You just start talking to them about how to deal with problems that come up, how to solve problems, the idea that failure is not bad, it's actually a good thing because then you can learn from your mistakes and those kinds of things. So as a kid gets older, and I'm not a parental expert, I'm not a kid expert, I just am basing all this off my own experience and what I've noticed from other kids and what they respond to.
But one thing you can do that puts us in a unique position, Jeanette, is that we are entrepreneurs ourselves. And so instead of just teaching them we can show them. We can lead by example. We can get them involved. And so at any point in time if possible I would actually get your kids involved in what you do in some way, shape, or form, and just kind of, instead of shutting the door one day and writing, actually bring them inside and show them what you do and how you craft a blog post and how you create a video and all that stuff, and why you do it and how money is generated and all those kinds of things. And, I mean there are some really cool videos obviously that you can show on YouTube that are very inspirational as well, success stories you can share in the car from podcast episodes. It's awesome. And when you show them what opportunities are out there, then they will have the options.
That was the big thing for me when I was twenty-five I didn't even know that this kind of stuff was something I could do. If I knew then I probably would have started earlier and maybe have selected a different route in terms of college or what my education would be about and you know who knows what would have happened. But I'm just so thankful that I finally got, and dove into this space.
Now this is a message for all you kids out there, and maybe your mom or dad heard this episode and turned it on because they thought this would be good for you. You know, so for those of you who are listening, first of all, thank you. I know there are other things that are important to you like friends and video games and homework and things like that. But what's also important is your future and one thing that you can do to help yourself have a happier future and do better in life and all those kinds of things is to understand what a business is. A business is something that solves a problem and typically will get paid in exchange for that solution, when you think about it. So anything that you see and look around, just anywhere. Everything is something that somebody once came up with. And it's there to solve some problem. Even things like movies and books, you know, what problem are they solving? They are the problem of boredom, right? They're keeping us entertained. So that's the first thing.
The second thing I mentioned earlier is failure. Failure is okay. I mean, always do your best, try your hardest, but if it doesn't work out the way you want it to the first time that's okay. It's actually great because now you know what not to do the next time around. Mistakes are the greatest form of education in my opinion.
And then thirdly and finally, don't be afraid to put yourself out there and try things. Like I said, failure is going to happen and that's a part of the process of becoming an entrepreneur and what you're doing is taking control of what's going to happen in your life. You're going to give yourself amazing opportunities and allow yourself to really do what it is that makes you happy in life and I think that's where it all starts.
But at the same time, listen to your mom and dad, of course. They are going to be there to help guide you along the way. They're going to be there to be a good example for you too. And hopefully guide you through the process because, I mean even me right now as a successful entrepreneur I don't know everything and I'm still learning myself. So always keep learning but at the same time put into action what you learn. So not just read, but read and then put into action what you've just read. Or watch YouTube videos that are educational that help you in some way, shape, or form. But actually, don't just watch them. Do what they tell you to do. And you're going to see results from the actions that you take.
So, anyway, just a quick message for all you kids out there, and maybe some of you adults too. But, thank you so much for listening in, I appreciate you guys and I want to offer you Jeanette an AskPat t-shirt. And actually one for your kid too, if you'd like. So we'll contact you and we'll get you set up with those shirts and yeah, very inspirational, thank you for the question and I wish you all the best.
And thank you, all of you who have a question out there. Just have yourself or your kids go to www.AskPat.com to ask that question and I'll be happy to check it out and potentially feature it on the show just like Jeanette's question.
So, thank you so much, I appreciate you guys. And here's a quote to finish off the day by William Van Horne. He said, “The biggest things are always the easiest to do because there is no competition.” So what that means is, you know what, think big. Take bold actions. The bigger you go, the more likely you are to do something that's more new or innovative, more novel. And now that doesn't' necessarily mean when you're starting a business, try to develop a business that serves everybody. Because if you were to develop a business that would serve everybody it actually serves nobody. You want to niche down and pick a specific pain or problem that you're solving but go big with those actions that you take because when you do that there will be no competition.
Be yourself. Keep going. Cheers, take care, and I'll see you in the next episode of AskPat. Bye.
