How to Raise Entrepreneurial Kids
It’s a bit of an exciting time for my entrepreneurial 10 year old daughter Ashleya. She won $1000 at the cricket for waving a Weet Bix sign and wanted to donate it all to my fundraising, as I was in the process of raising $20K for a World Vision Child Rescue Centre in Cambodia through my music. It was a sweet and generous offer, but I suggested to Ashleya that she give to a cause she was really passionate about.
Many parents catch their kids playing on the iPod when they’re supposed to be sleeping, but with Ashleya, we’ve caught her sneakily staying up… READING! A punishment for her is… NOT taking her to the library. She has had a book themed birthday party before, where we hung books out of trees and she had a book cake and the invitations were laminated library cards. She is known to cross the road whilst reading a book, and will read a minimum of 50 books in the school holidays. She is also a member of a book club for kids and could read before she started school; books and reading are Ashleya’s favourite things.
Big Brother Mouse
Ashleya’s Aunty Candis, visited Laos, a country where, according to the Big Brother Mouse charity, ‘reading skills and education were weak, and most people had never read a book for enjoyment.’ Aunty Candis was asking for donations for Big Brother Mouse, which in 2006 began publishing ‘books that make literacy fun’ in Laos, and since then literacy has improved in participating schools by a whopping 39%! Ashleya gave her own pocket money to her Aunty Candis, so that another child like her could have a book. She said, ‘I can’t imagine a life without books! Without books… I’d be DEAD!’
Becoming a kidpreneur
One of Ashleya’s favourite jobs at home, is making lip balm for our family out of beeswax, extra virgin olive oil and 100% pure essential oils. After Ashleya won the $1000, she decided to use the money to start a natural lip balm business, called Beauty From Ash’s, and donate part proceeds to the Big Brother Mouse charity in Laos. Big Brother Mouse have books ready to be published that await sponsorship of US$1000 (approximately AUS$1320). Ashleya’s goal is to raise $1320 through her lip balm business; she is selling pots of lip balm for $10 and donating $2 from each sale to her cause.
It Takes a Village to Raise a Child
These beautiful ladies have generously imparted their wisdom and donated their services to Ashleya: mentoring by Karina- former owner of The Happy Herb Shop in Joondalup; Roz the designer from Paperdolli Vintage- designing lip balm labels and cleverly coming up with the name Beauty From Ash’s; Bethrene from Wildheart Wellbeing- advice on labelling and marketing; Shenae from Shenae Rose Photography- creation of promo video, and primary school teacher Aunty Candis- for telling Ashleya about Big Brother Mouse and inviting her to make a difference. Ashleya has also been positively influenced by Lacey Filipich, co-founder of Money School, after working through Lacey’s Money and Me 2016 workbook, and reading Lacey’s book Bunny Money, which teaches children about saving money. Ashleya has been inspired to live off a passive income by the time she is in her early 30's, just like Lacey!
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Beauty From Ash's Launch
The really exciting part is that Ashleya is launching her lip balm at The House of Honey in the Swan Valley. The House of Honey have been so generous and supportive, and have even donated the beeswax for Ashleya’s lip balm. Also my hubby, who works in construction, was building at Spoonbill farm, and after mentioning Ashleya’s lip balm business idea, the owners kindly offered to donate Spoonbill extra virgin olive oil for the lip balm!
If you’re in Perth we’d love you to BEE at the launch! It will be on Saturday 5th November 2016 at The House of Honey, 10am to 12pm. Adults admission to the colony is $14.50, which includes a Beauty From Ash’s lip balm, valued at $10, plus a goody bag! Early birds who buy tickets by 23/10/16 will also receive a wildflower honey sample, thanks to The House of Honey. Kids are FREE and there will be face painting by the talented Jessica Batten, as well as live music by the beautiful, award winning songwriter Madi Henry, winner of the WAM Song of the Year Award in the 14 and under category.
There will also be a silent auction with all money going to the Big Brother Mouse charity. So far, the following lovely ladies are generously donating prizes for the silent auction: Kerrie from Kez Candles, Tracey from Mrs Maguire’s Candles, Jane from Creative Kids Art Club and Sarah from The Sweet Remedy. Support a kidpreneur, soften your lips with natural lip balm, receive a goody bag, listen to live music, have your face painted, enjoy honey tasting, bid on a silent auction prize, and spot the queen bee in the viewing hive of Sticky Spoon Café, which will also be open if you get peckish! Limited capacity venue, therefore only limited tickets available from this link HERE.
This wouldn’t be possible without the wisdom and generosity of all the above mentioned entrepreneurial ladies- it really does take a village to raise a child, especially a socially conscious, entrepreneurial one! Thank you so much for teaching my almost 11 year old daughter that womanhood is all about collaboration, connection, sharing, generosity, wisdom, love, and that being entrepreneurial is one of the key ways to make a difference in this world. I would encourage all parents to support their children in entrepreneurial pursuits, while they still have that child-like faith and believe they can do and be anything they want. If you'd like to keep in the loop with Ashleya's journey, you can follow her Facebook page HERE :)