SCENE IT.: SMALL AND MINI ENTREPRENEURS

There's definitely no better time than now to teach kids the ropes of buying and selling. They need not go to a boot camp just to learn the basic concept in running a business. The dynamics are actually best taught (and understood) through experience.

I chanced upon the recent kids biz-ness bazaar in SM City Davao last weekend, and I was so pleased to see kids working their cuteness out to sell products they personally selected. Clearly, there is so much promise in this bazaar as it serves as an avenue to train our next generation of entrepreneurs. It was like a resized version of the hit reality show, The Apprentice.

Chocolates, baked goodies, dresses, and handmade crafts sold like pancakes, and kids got busy doing PR and cashier work. There were also activity booths and interactive sessions which were free for all to enjoy. The concept was both educational and fun rolled into one. Whatever the kids earned could be saved for a new business venture, or used to buy their own toys or gifts.

The kids bazaar reminded me so much of my math classes back in grade 1 and 2. The curriculum of the school I went to was programmed after a system that was quite popular in Europe. Our teacher created a little store in our classroom. She put together toys and books on the shelves which we were to sell to our classmates. She assigned a certain value for each shape of toy block and these were used as "play money." Each of us got to play the role of buyer and seller, unknowingly developing acting and marketing skills alongside Mathematics. This kind of fun learning experience helped us practice and understand simple addition and subtraction, and, later on, discover the rest of the principles involved in My Dear Aunt Sally (Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction).

Kids nowadays have a better chance in growing their own business. Technology makes marketing easier, and it bridges gaps in so many ways. Believe it or not, kids have a better comprehension of the technology now compared to adults. I was even surprised to discover that the grade 6 students in my kid's school already use Microsoft Excel. Kids are definitely catching up with what we know and we might as well guide them in putting these learnings to good use.