Entrepreneurial Kids

Today I feel proud of my kids. Over the last years I have studied more about entrepreneurship and have realized how important it is for the wellbeing of society. In the future, life will not be a 40 yr career in the same company, either you learn to create your own job or perish. And creating your own job means provide value to people better than anybody else and in such an efficient way that you create value for yourself. It is probably overrated the idea to follow your dream, be passionate about what you do in order to be successful. I like better the idea that action precedes motivation and you become to love what you do well. But this entry is not a lecture about entrepreneurship but a recognition to the effort my two kids have placed in their ventures. Sort of the classic lemonade stand with a twist.

Mariafer weighing chocolate balls

Mariafer is selling candy. We buy bulk and she repackages the candy in individual servings that later sells to the clients of my wife, Monica. And she sells!!!!!!

Mostly on weekends we purchase bulk candy, she prepares her bags and gets ready to sell. Diligently she spends almost all her weekend selling candy. Not only a good seller, a good host but very responsible.

Tangy stripes, gummy bears, chocolate-cookie balls, sour hard candy, etc. She has learned to forecast demand of different candy and plans on how many bags to prepare.

She will start and entrepreneurial project were she might polish her business. Branding, finance, etc. are fields she needs to learn about.

Jose Andres surveying a stranger at a food court

Meanwhile Jose Andres has a different challenge. Not being as outspoken he struggles a bit more. However he is getting ready for a business fair and his venture is about pumpkin cupcakes. He is aware that this is not his Dream Project but sees the opportunity as a learning experience. Using a recipe of pumpkin bars from our dear friends in Minnesota he turned them into cupcakes. Although he can make them now almost by memory he had to survey real customers to know how to improve the product.  He didn't finish his goal over the weekend with Monica's clients so he had to find more people. Armed with a tupper with samples and his survey we went to a mall. At the beginning he was hesitant to ask strangers about his cupcakes but after overcoming the first couple he grabbed confidence and completed his goal. The learning was wonderful and as Linda Rottember (author of "Crazy is a Compliment") recently said in the Tom Woods show; "Friends don't let friends test drive their ideas". Strangers with no emotional attachment were honest reviewers of his work.

I don't imply my kids will be merchants or cooks in the future. I don't even know if they will ever love what they are doing now but they are preparing their path to success.