A program called Kids, Inc. 2015 offered a great opportunity to young merchants ages 6 - 15 in Port Arthur, Texas at their Central Mall. According to Chelsea Henderson reporting in "The News Port Arthur", the young people were learning about marketing, packaging, and other aspects of business management. What a great idea. Why aren't these ideas taught in school as regular courses with this type of "hands on" learning as a graduation from the course?
The group in Texas included young people who sold cupcakes, puzzles, magnets, cell phone holders made from lego and of course, lemonade. However, this is not your usual small business that every kid tries. Take Travis and Aubyn Moore, 9 and 7 respectively who are selling phone and business card holders. They design them and their dad is the investor. They say business is booming. They've never been this busy.
Their father, David Moore, said as a business owner himself, he thought it was a terrific idea to give younger children an opportunity to start and run their own businesses.“The packets they gave the kids when we got here has really led to some interesting conversations today,” David said. “It’s a lot of very basic and general information about how to run a business, and one of the things it hits on is customer service. Travis asked, ‘Well, what is that?’ and now he’s been working on his customer service skills all day.“But I love this whole program, because no one really teaches kids about how to start a business. We’re talking about profits and losses, and figuring out how to turn their ideas into something that can give them spending money."
- Kayleigh Sadler, 9, of Groves poses in front of her business, Cupcake Concoctions, during the fourth annual Kids, Inc. entrepreneur program at Central Mall Saturday.
It seems like a great concept and I hope it will spread to other communities. Kids need more practical skills from their many hours in school, and what could be better than an activity where they are making money for themselves?
