Outside of school, there are a lot of life skills that children can learn from their various activities and projects. Trying their hand at entrepreneurship is one of them.
In Singapore, there are camps for children to attend and lessons in school that encourage entrepreneurship. Even for adults, there are various courses you can use your SkillsFuture credits to take to kickstart your entrepreneurial journey.
There are countless of invaluable lessons children can learn from becoming a young entrepreneur by selling their own creations. We interviewed 5 young Singaporeans who will be setting up their own stalls at the Kidpreneur Bazaar this weekend.
These 5 Singaporeans have already made the first steps in their entrepreneur journey at a young age. Here are their stories on how they thought of their business idea and how they plan to earn money with their unique products.
Ayden (8) & Marissa (7) – Chemical Free Nail Polish And Glow In The Dark Slime
Mini-bosses Ayden (8 years old turning 9) and Marissa (7 years old) have barely started primary school, yet these young Singaporeans have already taken their first steps in entrepreneurship.
Ayden loves to draw, read books, play with his lego and computer games, while younger sister Marissa, enjoys playing with her toys, playing lego and computer games with Ayden.
This weekend, this pair of siblings will be selling chemical free nail polish, glow in the dark slime and other accessories at the Kid Bazaar 2019. Here’s what the Soh siblings have to say about their journey as a kidpreneur.
DollarsAndSense (DNS): What will you be selling at the bazaar?
Marissa: We will be selling chemical free nail polish and glow in the dark slime as well as accessories.
Ayden: Please visit us at the bazaar to check out our promotions!
DNS: How did you come up with this idea of selling this product?
Ayden: Because there are lots of products with dangerous chemicals in it. Our products are chemical free and harmless to children. Our glow in the dark slime is safe to play with.
Marissa: I like nail polish but I can’t use nail polish for adults because they are not good for kids. The nail polish we are selling has fun colours and kids can use it.
DNS: How much do you think you will earn from selling your products and what will you do with the money you earned?
Ayden: We don’t know but I hope to make good money from our products. We will give 50% to a charity and the other half we will keep in our savings.
DNS: What do you like about being able to sell your own product?
Ayden & Marissa (A & M): It has been fun preparing the products. We can make money and sell products that chemical free and safe for children.
DNS: What do you want to be when you grow up? Will you want to sell your own products when you are an adult?
A & M: We don’t know yet. We are still exploring what we want to be when we grow up.
The success of these siblings come with the support of their mum, Mary. Mary shared with us her thoughts on Ayden and Marissa becoming a kidpreneur.
DNS: You must be proud of your children from being an entrepreneur from such a young age. What are your thoughts on your children becoming a kidpreneur?
Mary (Ayden & Marissa’s mummy): It is a good opportunity for them to foster creativity and to develop a sense of work ethics with more appreciation for money. They will benefit from this exposure which will shape their skill set.
DNS: Since becoming a Kidpreneur, how much have Ayden & Marissa grown? What are some of the takeaways they have gotten from this experience?
Mary: The Kidpreneur’s Bazaar experience have taught Ayden and Marissa to think out of their comfort zone and to understand the value of hard work as well as setting and achieving their goals.
Xander (11) – Xander’s Game And Book Stall
11 year old Xander is a kidpreneur that is currently in Primary 5. His hobbies include drawing and reading. His love for reading is a key reason behind his a collection of old story books, which he will be selling at the bazaar.
Besides selling his pre-loved books, Xander will also be setting up his very own game store for anyone who is free to drop by and have a go!
DNS: How did you come up with this idea of selling these products?
Xander: I came up with this idea as I played air hockey with my friends on their birthday party and my friends loved it.
DNS: How much do you think you will earn from selling your products and what will you do with the money you earned?
Xander: I think I will earn at least $25. I will add in the money to my savings.
DNS: What do you like about being able to sell your own product?
Xander: I am having fun and I like being able to sell my old books and my game stall. I feel happy that I am able to share my old books to others at a lower price.
DNS: What do you want to be when you grow up? Will you want to sell your own products when you are an adult?
Xander: An artist and I will want to create and sell my own products in future.
Xander’s mother, Liza, has high hopes for her son especially with this foray into entrepreneurship.
DNS: You must be proud of your children from being an entrepreneur from such a young age. What are your thoughts on your child becoming a kidpreneur?
Liza (Xander’s Mother): I have high hopes! Sentosa Cove here we come!
Apart from inculcating the entrepreneurial spirit in him, we do hope he comes away from the experience with a better sense of how the decisions he makes can affect how people interact with him on both business and social aspects. We’re already surprised that he has chosen to sell an experience through his game setup to complement his product selling, so if he decides to pursue his kidpreneur path further, we just want to see what else he has in store for the world.
DNS: Since becoming a Kidpreneur, how much has Xander grown? What are some of the takeaways he has gotten from this experience?
Liza: Thus far he is learning to think of how people perceive value and what value his business can offer them, and also how to tier and package his offerings so his customers feel they are getting more value for the money they might spend with him.
Charlotte (8) and Ella (6)– Selling uniquely designed notebooks
Baby bosses Charlotte (8) and Ella (6) are currently studying at Singapore Chinese Girls’ School. Charlotte and Ella both enjoy reading, but have interestingly different hobbies. Ella loves art, gymnastics and dance, while Charlotte loves playing the cello and writing.
Ella’s artwork is the inspiration behind the sisters’ specially printed notebooks which they will be selling at the upcoming bazaar. Charlotte writes many short stories and poems. One of Charlotte’s poems is “My Universe” which the sisters have printed and included within some of the notebooks.
The girls have already started marketing their notebooks on Facebook and 23% of their stock has already been sold!
DNS: What will you be selling at the bazaar and how much will you be selling it for?
Charlotte & Ella (C & E): We are selling a number of things. But the star will be the limited edition notebooks. The covers of these notebooks are not just some random old pictures but are paintings by this talented young artist, Ella. We have several designs, some with translucent hard covers and calendars. We are also selling lighted toys for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Charlotte’s birthday is around the Mid-Autumn and we enjoy going on ‘adventure’ with these lighted toys.
DNS: How did you come up with this idea of selling this product?
Ella: I have many interests. I may want to be an artist or a book illustrator in the future but my parents cautioned her that my art may not sell, especially in Singapore. So I want to use this chance to see if I can make my interest profitable. Noting it is hard to just to sell a piece of art, we wanted to design and print them on notebook, recycling bag and files etc.
DNS: How much do you think you will earn from selling your products?
C & E: We just hope to break even. The start-up cost is quite high because of the rent and making of the notebooks.
DNS: What will you do with the money you earned?
C & E: We want to use the money to pay for more classes that we like.
DNS: What do you like about being able to sell your own product?
C & E: Knowing that we can also earn money with our own abilities. Knowing that there are people who appreciate our talents.
Charlotte: At first it is hard because I have to compose a poem related to “My Universe”. I am glad I am to give it another perspective. I wrote a script and made a video selling the notebooks.
C & E: We were really super excited when we first saw the notebooks. We wanted to keep many for ourselves. But later we understand these are meant to be sold. We especially like taking photos and videos for marketing our notebooks on social media. We also like going around delivering our notebooks!
DNS: What do you want to be when you grow up? Will you want to sell your own products when you are an adult?
Charlotte: I want to be a lawyer.
Ella: I have not decided. I am considering an artist, a police or a scientist like my father. I like Science too!
C & E: But if we have a chance, we want to open a school or a B&B together! That is what we always play when we are home.
Charlotte: Maybe I will want to sell my own products when I grow up. But it is really hard to sell things! Ella should try to sell her designs to Typo instead.
DNS: You must be proud of your children from being an entrepreneur from such a young age. What are your thoughts on your children becoming a kidpreneur?
Julia (Charlotte & Ella’s Mother): I love the look they had when they first saw the notebooks. I love their energy and creativity when they planned on marketing their items. I love the confidence they exuded when they made the videos and telling people about their notebooks.
It is important for them to see how this “selling and buying” works in the real world. If not, usually kids will just have the idea “my parents will buy”. There is still a lot to learn and do. They are going to attend a Kidpreneur workshop and hopefully give them a better idea of what to do in a bazaar.
DNS: Since becoming a Kidpreneur, how much have Charlotte & Ella grown? What are some of the takeaways they have gotten from this experience?
Julia: I think this is a valuable lesson for them to learn. Being a Kidpreneur trains them to be resourceful, creative and responsible. Through this experience, they met and solved some challenges they are never prepared for in school. They have a lot of arguments throughout but eventually resolved them. Now, they even consider what areas they may have disagreements and try to avoid them. They are now more conscious with money and can better appreciate the value of each dollar.
Read Also: A Really Awesome Saving and Investing Method To Teach Your Child
There Are No Age Limits For Entrepreneurship
Age is just a number. To encourage some of the youngest Singaporeans to embark on their journey to become an entrepreneur, Mums@Work Singapore, a portal dedicated to helping mums find work-family balance, has organised the Singapore Kidpreneurs Bazaar for the 5th year running!
Some of Singapore’s youngest Kidpreneurs will be setting up their own stalls at Singapore Kidpreneur’s Bazaar, happening this Saturday and Sunday, from 1030am to 7pm at Harbourfront Centre, Level 1.
Designed to inspire and encourage a new generation of entrepreneurs, Singapore Kidpreneurs Bazaar serves as a platform to support 4-16 year olds who want to have a go at being a real entrepreneur. Teen bosses (13-16 years old), Mini bosses (9-12 years old) and Baby bosses (4-8 years old) will be setting up their own stalls where they showcase and sell their very own products.
Everyone is invited to head down and show these young, inspiring kidpreneurs your support! The DollarsAndSense team will also be there to give out the Creative Kidpreneur Award. See you there!
You can find out more details about the event here.
Read Also: 4 Things That I Have Done To Teach My Children The Value Of Money
Listen to our podcast, where we have in-depth discussions on finance topics that matter to you.
