Five ways to know if your child will be an entrepreneur

One of my favourite ways to spend a day is watching children play or going to the park to see people interacting.

Don’t mistake me for a paedophile, I watch people when they least expect because this is when I get to learn the most about them.

There is one particular child in my neighbourhood that catches my interest— this child does not play very well with the others; he cries when others play unfairly or when they do not understand or do not do what he wants.

He also questions everything and tries to do things his own way first before asking for help. He gets engaged when he finds a lock and tries all he can to open it, with or without a key. I often hear his playmates call him “bad boy” when he gets obsessive over his thoughts.

One afternoon the children came to my house and he was the only one who fell on a sheep’s wool rug I have and started rolling on it.

He called on some of his playmates to roll on the rug with him but they tried to stop him saying “bad manners.”

EARLY TRAITS

There are surprising things that entrepreneurs portray that can be recognised at an early stage and nurtured into early success.

According to Forbes, Entrepreneur and Inc. com magazines, successful entrepreneurs possess different characteristics from “normal” people. Here are some surprising signs that parents might want to look out for and try to nurture in their children for early success.

1. Open minded: They do not think within lines that have been drawn out. They set out to find an opportunity anywhere and everywhere.

They like to do things that others have not thought of doing or are scared of doing. Like crazy mountain climbing, trying to overcome huge waves while surfing, or sky diving.

2. Rebels or labelled rebels: When a child is constantly in trouble at school and not because of drugs or fighting, but because they keep breaking some rules but not harming anyone, this is not a problem.

It can be properly managed so that it does not get disruptive but also help nurture the child to channel his thinking for positive results. Entrepreneurs break the rules and would want to defy anything if they could.

3. Very little attention span: Some children cannot concentrate on this thing for a specific time, or this child cannot play one game for too long.

The truth of the matter is that the child might just be bored of what he is doing and might need an alternate game, different way of carrying out the task or a totally different assignment that will keep him interested.

Entrepreneurs get bored easily and they tend to lose interest in assignments that are not up to their capabilities.

4. Seek company or persons to work with: Being an entrepreneur is not easy and successful ones know that.

In fact, entrepreneurs could be more scared to start a business solo and leave employment more than is obviously discussed or shared.

They are completely scared of going solo; so if you are scared or see someone scared of making a solo move, do not let that beat your ego.

It is normal to be scared and even a good telling sign that one does not think they can do everything on their own and can turn into micromanaging which will not be a good thing for the venture you are trying to get into or the business you are running.

5. Obsessive and assertive: When you see a child is obsessed with his own task, let him be. Entrepreneurs obsess over their ideas despite resistance from people, even close to them to realise their dream.

This article was first published in the Business Daily. Click here to view the article.