The Slimers! Meet Nate, Miranda & Vince!
"That problem is already solved", "I already have something like that", "No one needs another one of those on the market".....
Yup, we have all found ourselves saying something like that before, I'm sure. Another onion chopping thingy or a new kind of water bottle, there seem to be so many products that all solve the same problem.... or is there?
Meet Nate, Miranda and Vince who I am calling our 2019 Slimers!
Slime is nothing new. We had it as kids and now our kids have it too. Kids love it and for many, they can find relaxation and therapeutic relief from holding it.
In our Fall Semester KidPreneur Program, we had multiple classes running and, of course, a bunch of kids wanted to do slime. It ended up that on Market Day, we were going to have 3 Slime Businesses. Oh no! Of only 18 vendors, 3 would be slime. Wouldn't that make the market boring? Why would someone buy slime from more than one vendor? Or if faced with the choice, how would a customer choose between which KidPreneurs business to support?
Never underestimate the intelligence of a True KidPreneur and their business savvy.
One of the most common questions we get from parents when considering placing their child into a Build a Biz Kids program is, will my child need to enter the program with a business idea already? Or do you help them with that?
The answer is either or works fine. From experience, we have found that our students are one of 2 types: They either have TOO many ideas that we need to help them choose the perfect one to start with. The other type is one who has no idea what to do as, after all, this is the first time they have ever thought of starting a business. In these cases, we give them loads of ideas and encourage them to "Make It Their Own" by asking questions like:
- Who will your customer be? Adults? Kids? Boy's? Girls? Etc
- How much effort and time do you want to put into making them?
- What price point do you want to sell at?
- What is something you could do differently to make this more fun? More useful? Standout more?
For example, maybe they decide to make soap. Well, they could make them shaped like the flowers they scent them with; great for adults. Or place a toy in the center of it so kids want to wash their hands more; great for kids.
Getting back to our slimers, Wow! they definitely took that to heart and ended up making 3 incredibly successful slime businesses that all stood out from one another.
Meet Vince & his Squishy Business! Vince decided to go with a cool theme and boy did he run with it! He did glow in the dark slime. His display has a dark box and black light to show how they glow, plus he had them in a Light Bulb container so you could understand what made them amazing without having to say a word! They looked so cool and were definitely something you don't see every day. Kids Loved Them!
Meet Nate and his Fluffy Slime Business! Nate took a different angle. He understood that not everyone can play with traditional slime because they break out into a rash from the ingredient, Borax, that is usually in it. Nate's solution! Borax Free Slime which also makes it super fluffy! He had an awesome display with lots of height and a sign that you could see from across the room. At just 7 years old, Nate ran his booth all by himself and made his parents very proud of him.
And last but definitely not least, Meet Miranda and her Slime Bar! Yes, that's right! She had a slime bar! Talk about covering your bases lol. Her bar consisted of 3 stations. Step 1 - choose your base, clear or white. Step 2 - choose your "add ins" like foam balls or glitter. Step 3 - Choose your colouring! Great ideas right?? Not only do you get custom slime, she was teaching other kids how to make it themselves as well.
3 Slimers, all with completely different slime businesses. Isn't it a kick in the pants when kids "get it" and sometimes us adults don't. They were not worried at all about having other slime there and loved seeing what one another had come up with.
These KidPreneurs are pretty amazing but what we may have not realized that they learned in such a fun way, is that no problem is ever completely solved. There is always another group of customers within a market who can be served better. And most of all, never shy away from competition or have a mindset of scarcity. If you are willing to work hard and listen to the people you want to help, there is more than enough success and FUN to go around!
Interested in our next semester of programming? Find out more here
Fall 2019 KidPReneur Programs are designed for students ages 7-12 years. Programs available in West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Downtown Vancouver, Burnaby, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody, New Westminster, Maple Ridge.
To Register for a program next semester, View Our Schedule Here.
Also Available are Summer Camps
Meet Alex - Our Crypto Specialist
This is Alex and Alex is an incredible learner. He understands complex concepts and has incredible patience with people, like his amazing younger brother, and for learning. Alex is Curious and wants to know why something works. From machines, to block chain technology to the difference between costs and margins. Alex is a Graduate of Build a Biz Kids and he continues to impress us whenever we see him.
All kids are naturally curious. We were as children, our friends were, our own kids are, but somewhere between the over/improper use of iPads and the instant gratification we receive daily in our lives, many students have had a large decrease in their patience and are unwilling to take the time to learn something that can't be instantly acquired, even with YouTube's help. When a child loses their patience, they are robbed of their curiosity to learn and the ability to feel that incredible sensation we all get when we understand something new; Excitement!
As many of our parents and community know, Build a Biz Kids is a tech free learning zone in all of our current programs for students ages 7-12 years of age. The idea of any education program being completely tech free can sometimes be confusing or give the impression that we are less "advanced" in the curriculum that we teach. I thought I would take this blog to explain our philosophy around technology in our program and why it is providing greater results than any computer program ever could.
Technology is, by far, the greatest advancement that human beings have created. It has advanced us in every way possible and given us the modern life we have grown accustomed to. From our health care, to communication, transportation, nutrition, farming and so much more. We love technology and all that it has to offer everyday people in their everyday lives. But what we really love is how it has given every single entrepreneur out there, the equal chance at being successful and taking on the "BIG GIANT CORPORATIONS" that have dominated industry in every decade prior to the internet.
So why is it that we do not allow technology in our Kids Entrepreneur Class?
Because technology is not the point of the class. I will explain.
Let's take our class on branding or designing their signage. When working with 7-12 year olds (and even adults) the desire is to quickly "find" a logo and make a poster to use on their store when they launch their business. We could easily give them a laptop and a website that generates a free logo just by entering in their business name, their favourite colours and clicking on some pictures that they like. POOF! Logo done. Then they could go onto another website where they can enter their logo, tagline, colors and poof! Poster is done!
The thing is, the point of branding and having a poster, is not the having, it's the understanding. For example, what is the difference between a red logo and a blue one? What are the implications if you have more than 1 color in your logo? Lot's of detail? If our KidPreneurs don't know, that could cost them money and time down the road in many, many ways.
When making a poster, What should be the biggest aspect of the poster? The logo? The price? The tagline? A description of what they are selling? Not knowing would be a Big Opportunity Cost on the day they launch their business.
The point of our Biz Kids programming is to teach them WHY they are doing what they are doing; not the how. In fact, teaching them the how would rob them of their natural creativity, out of the box thinking, and rob the world of new innovations that could revolutionize how we brand and market in the future.
This is just one example of a class in a 10 week, introductory to Kids Entrepreneurship program. Yes, technology will come into play and yes, we will get to that with them as they evolve and continue to develop their practical skills. But if we skip the why and just give them "results" then they will struggle with being a successful, contributing human, let alone a successful entrepreneur.
Cheers to developing curious minds!
For more information on our upcoming Summer Camp Programs in July and August, CLICK HERE
For information on our Fall KidPreneur Programming that is still being announced, CLICK HERE
Programming is being released daily for the following Cities: Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Maple Ridge, Burnaby, New Westminster, Vancouver, West Vancouver, North Vancouver.
Http://BuildaBizKids.com
What About After Their Business Program?
We are so excited to meet & work with each and every child who enters into a Build a Biz Kids Program, but we are EVEN MORE excited to see what they go on to do afterwards!
Our mission is to help students learn the critical skills required to take action on their ideas while helping them develop empathy for the world around them. Our programs do not just teach theory, but practice Action! But practice in learning lab can only go so far. We need our students to identify opportunities outside of our program and in their real lives. That's practice; that is putting in their 10,000 hours to mastery.
Every graduate, & their parents from one of our programs, is invited to a very special Facebook Group that focuses on future development. Our students have been notified of additional opportunities to run their businesses throughout their communities. They have also been invited to additional education events and so much more!
In just the last week, our students have been able to participate in 2 incredible opportunities. Last weekend, our students set up shop and joined in a Real Adult Handmade Market through the Tri Cities Collective! That's right! They got to set up their businesses right next to adults who do this kind of thing all the time to make profit and provide for their families. That is real world experience that they will reflect on for years.
But my most favorite activity our students were invited to was a Pitch Competition hosted by SingularityU & I-onConnect. That's right, a real live Dragons Den where 5 finalists got to pitch their businesses to a panel of 6 judges and the winner walked away with $40k and support to make their business really take off. For a KidPreneur of 10 or 11 to get to watch something like that was incredible to see. It was some high tech content, in some cases, and big picture ideas, but they all "got it". They not only got it, they asked great follow up questions, had their own opinions based on what they heard, and overall, kept remarking how exciting it all was.
Kids, and people in general, only know that which they are exposed to. In just 1 week, Build a Biz Kids Students were able to rub shoulders running their businesses alongside as equals to adults who have been doing it for years. They were able to learn from these veterans on what works and how they can improve. They were also given the "thumbs up" from the winner of the pitch competition and told that they could do this too. That they could have an idea, learn how to make a great pitch, and that others who believe in what you believe will help you make it a reality.
All in all, this week has been a busy one, but full of momentous moments that will surely stick with these lucky students for years to come and shape the many spectacular things they do.
We invite you and your children to become a part of our alumni. Expose them to all that is possible in the world. Show them what you wish you were shown as a child. Give them the opportunity to learn the skills, that took us 10 and 20 years to learn, now.
Summer camps are open for registration online. Our fall KidPreneur Programs will be opening for registration soon. Be sure to like us on Facebook & Sign Up for our Newsletter so you wont miss any of these great opportunities.
We look forward to meeting you and your KidPreneur soon!