I recently asked my kids to think of a product that they can sell in front of our house in order to make money. They came up with sago’t gulaman and pineapple juice. Although I felt that people in our neighborhood would not need to buy juices, I still went ahead with their idea because I don’t want to crush their enthusiasm. Unfortunately, their first day sale wasn’t that high. How do I encourage my kids and lift their spirits? They were really disappointed.
I understand your good intentions in supporting the first “business venture” of your kids. The sale of one day is not the measure of failure in a business. You could encourage them to give it a few more days, including a weekend. If it still doesn’t pick up, encourage them to analyze what is wrong and try to remedy it. They should have a target amount of loss at which point, they should just close their business and recoup.
If they succeed in their first project, keep encouraging them.
If they really fail in their first project, you can focus on the three good lessons: 1) 80-90% of start-up businesses fail, 2) before putting up a business, make sure that you have a real market in your chosen location for your product and 3) never give up for as long as the market is still large enough and that perhaps, you just need to change the way you sell and deliver your product.
Explain to them that in business, it is natural to fail. When you fail, it is not you personally that failed, it is the business that failed. You should look for the reasons for the failure so that you may learn from it. If you or your husband ever failed in a business, tell them the story in simple terms, explain how you learned from your failure and how you eventually succeeded. Business is a risky activity and all the more, you have to study opportunities well. In their small start, they were really blessed because only a small amount was involved and they learned the valuable attitude of accepting a minor defeat and looking forward to a future victory.
Teach them that for their next business, they should not only think of the product they know how to make and/or that they personally like. Show them how they should “survey” the location where they want to sell. Help them brainstorm on:
– Whether it is the right location and right time for selling
– How much competition is there
– What items would have more demand for and to best sell there.
– The right selling price/s for the items.
– Asking advice from people who know about their product, the location and how they can cut their costs.
While the failure is very small from your perspective, it can be very real to them if they are serious in their project. It is important to impress on them that there are valuable lessons to be learned in this experience and that they have to learn what those are. Learning the right lessons will ensure future success..
If you know how to go to the Internet, watch this short feature:
http://www.maniacworld.com/are-you-going-to-finish-strong.html
If you think it is appropriate, it would be good for your children to see.