Just like most kids, I had a barter trade businesses from a very young age. I got my first official job when I was 16 and was introduced to a million concepts that made no sense to me. So, I ignored them and carried on with a job. But, when I started my first business at 18, I remembered that I had seen those concepts before.

It was extremely overwhelming and there was so much information to process. Every step of the way was a hard lesson to learn and every mistake cost me money. No one else my age had a business at the time so it was a lonely journey and a very challenging one.

But as I opened more businesses over the last 25 years, I found that starting a business is quite easy, if you know which milestones need to be accomplished. Running a business and making it successful are two very different matters.

So, I would like my kids and their friends to have the opportunity to learn these concepts very early. I would like every kid to know what “profit” means, or how it’s different from a “sale”.

I would like kids to use their super observational skills to spot market trends and to apply this to price their products correctly. To familiarise themselves with the giant world of advertising. To learn not to take rejection of a sale personally and to be happy to start over and over again.

Because let’s face it – not all businesses are successful! But if you know that you can start another one easily – well, you just do and you reallocate your energy and effort towards something that will make money in the future.

I hope you enjoy the venture boxes.

Yours truly,
Entrepreneurial mum