Money, Power, Respect

Black Enterprise, June, 2000 by Carolyn M. Brown

* Get your kids involved in investment clubs. By encouraging them to join or start a club, your children will learn how to pick and track stocks like the pros. Investment clubs provide structure and discipline to new investors. Youth clubs are organized the same as any other club. (For investment club information, contact the NAIC at www.better-investing.org or 877-275-6242.) The club must choose members, select officers, set a date for meetings, collect monthly dues, open brokerage and bank accounts, write bylaws and form a legal partnership. The only difference: parents must sign custodial agreements with the partnership, since members are too young to buy stocks themselves and can't claim their shares until age 18 or 21, depending on the state. Youth can recruit fellow classmates, church members or teammates. Don't overlook civic organizations such as the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. Also call on adults from your church congregation, coaches or teachers to serve as advisors.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

* Expose children to local business owners. Visit black-owned businesses in your community and in other cities when you are vacationing or visiting relatives. "Show your kids how some people make a very good living owning a local beauty parlor, convenience store, funeral home or [dry] cleaners," says George Waters, CEO of Camden, New Jersey-based EDTEC Inc., which develops training materials on setting up youth-entrepreneurial programs. "Kids should understand how business and the economy works in their neighborhoods," he adds. Find a business mentor within your family or network of friends or check with professional organizations such as the National Association of Black Accountants, National Black MBA Association and National Black Chamber of Commerce.

* Create contractual/entrepreneurial opportunities. Instead of just giving your child a weekly allowance, pay them to do things around the house. Use this method to teach them about business. "Many times parents miss an opportunity to teach mini-lessons on entrepreneurship by using household chores," says EDTEC's president, Aaron Bocage. "There is a difference between saying to a child, `Go clean out the basement and I will give you a couple of dollars,'" he explains, "and saying, `I have some things that need to be done around the house; what is it worth to you to do them? Come back to me with an estimate.'" The latter comment is a business transaction where they are getting paid for their time and labor.

* Start a part-time business. Many people have a part-time business on the side. This is an ideal opportunity to have young people observe how a business operates. Involve your children in your entrepreneurial ventures, says Waters. He cites some examples of successful parent/child businesses: selling clothes retail, delivering newspapers, making silk flower arrangements and providing janitorial services.

* Support school-based programs. Know what is being taught at your child's school. Some teachers aren't aware of the materials their colleagues use to teach entrepreneurship in the classroom. Parents can share information with teachers about curricula like that developed by EDTEC. Teachers should also research how to integrate business concepts into such subjects as social studies, economics and math. Also, you can suggest activities, such as field trips, or afterschool programs, such as entrepreneurial clubs, to enhance the lesson plan.