Top 5 Questions/Comments on Entrepreneurship from 5th Graders
This is what I want to do all the time! Career Day.
I was invited to speak with a 5th-grade class on career day about entrepreneurship and owning your own business. I could have talked about my business, the challenges of meaningful HR services, recruitment strategies, etc., but I chose to make it interesting.
I started by asking if anyone in the class had someone in their family who owned their own business. Seven hands went up. And each one shared the entrepreneur in their own family. A plumber, an HVAC service company, grandparents who manufactured window glass, a hardware store owner, a food truck, a restaurant, and a writer all received free advertising from the 5th graders they were related to that day.
"Of course, you know then, being your own boss is super easy," I said.
My comment was immediately met with laughter and shouts of correction. And I agreed: Owning your own business and being the boss can be tough. So, let's talk about the things business owners think about while pretending we have a business of our own, specifically a candy business. Passing around a bag of Hershey's treats, I encouraged everyone to take one or two to be sure they were familiar with our product.
We discussed marketing, distribution, and profit margins. We packed a great deal into 30 minutes, and these 5th graders had so many ideas, comments, and questions.
So, what do 5th graders ask about when pondering owning a candy business?
Here are the 5 questions/comments that stuck with me for hours afterward:
"Our candy store doesn't have to be in a real store." That's right. Our younger thinkers already understand the difference between a brick-and-mortar store and online sales. They also understood that running an online company can save a company a great deal of money b/c you don't need staff or to pay for a location.
"How much money can I make?" It's no surprise that the economics of owning your own business contribute to the enticement of being an entrepreneur.
"Companies are always marketing to us in our games." TV commercials? No way—that's my generation. Video games are the avenue being used to reach these kids. Students reported this was the #1 manner in which they were personally marketed to and targeted. Most reported being able to tune such marketing out.
"Wow. How many pieces you can sell really makes a difference." Volume sales. This comment came up when we were breaking down the hypothetical costs of that one piece of candy in their hands. At 50 cents each, we hypothesized the profit was 8 cents on each piece (20 cents on marketing, 15 cents on distribution/operations, & 7 cents on ingredients gave us an 8-cent profit). Everyone agreed that didn't sound like much. Then I asked, if you make 8 cents on one piece, true. But what if you sold 1 million pieces? $80,000. 10 million pieces? $800,000. It was at that point someone excitedly noted that Halloween must be a huge money maker for candy makers. I agreed.
"I think I want to own my own business. I have good thinking skills." 3 students approached me as I was packing up to share this with me. This is my goal. I want to plant the seed with younger minds that, yes, they could grow up to own their own business. And then the thank you notes arrived. Seems Saul and I could have been in business together had we both been in the 5th grade at the same time. I give him bonus points for thinking environmentally friendly and being conscientious of the cost of gas. I can't say I would have been thinking in those terms at the age of 12. Keep up the awesome thinking and dreaming, Saul!
Regardless of what questions or opinions may come my way on career day, I always stand ready to nurture a spark of optimism that yes, you can do this. Yes, you can dream big. Yes, there are others interested in sharing suggestions and advice. You are smart enough, can be bold enough, and don't need huge inherent privilege to be successful. More kids deserve to hear this as truth.
