MacStartup

As a new author, entrepreneur, and now speaker I’ve been asked to speak to middle school kids about my book “How to Start a Business: Mac Version” and kids starting their own business.

Here’s some interesting facts about kids from a new Junior Achievement poll: “When asked which entrepreneur teens admire most, Steve Jobs reigns supreme in the 2010 Junior Achievement Teens and Entrepreneurship survey sponsored by Sam’s Club. Nearly a quarter of respondents (23 percent) named Apple founder Steve Jobs as the most admired entrepreneur, down from 35 percent in the 2009 survey.”

What makes kids want to be entrepreneurs? “Thirty-one percent of teens admire entrepreneurs who make a difference in people’s lives and 31 percent cited success in multiple fields as what makes an entrepreneur stand out.”

Watch a TED.com talk at what one entrepreneur learned about his life and education:

Well, here’s some of the links I have found that might just get kids and their talents and passion into something that get them moving in the right direction.

• Junior Achievement for K12 Schools – You can ask for a mentor for your school, see the menu “JA Near You” to locate one in your state.
• Kauffman Foundation
• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship
• Radical Parenting: 10 Best Resources for Young Entrepreneurs, Kid Inventors and Teen Businessmen.
• Kid Entrepreneurs.
• Kid Entrepreneurs via FoxNews
• Teaching Kids Entrepreneurship
• Young Entrepreneur Foundation
• Young Money: Student Entrepreneurship

Here are some blog and web site posts that might help define some things for kids.

• Guy Kawasaki guest post: Top Ten Myths of Entrepreneurship
• iTunes University
• Apple in Education

Education, kids, and getting kids prepared for the workforce.

What are your resources for teaching kids entrepreneurship?

One of the things that I find disheartening is seeing the faces of individuals that are looking for jobs. Well, here’s how to change the words so that you can find something you really like. Rather than saying, “I’m looking for a job,” here’s what to say instead:

“I’m looking for work.”

That’s it. Change just one word.

Why?

Because when you tell someone that you’re looking for a job, you’re telling someone that you are limiting your scope of finding meaningful employment.

So, if I came up to you and said, “I’m looking for a job,” how would you feel about my comment and helping me?

Now, if I came up and said, “I’m looking for work,” now how do you feel about comment and about helping me?

In both cases someone may ask, “What do you do?” But notice when you use the word work the person that needs someone for a short period or project might view you differently.

If you ran your own business, how would you feel about it someone using the word job versus work?

Why change the word from “job” to “work?”

Because you are broadening your horizons by giving others the opportunity to see ALL of you and you seeing ALL of the opportunities that might be available to you, i.e. a free lance job might turn into a part or full time job. Or, you could start your own business. It’s also about keeping your skill set sharp if you are “in between jobs.”

So, stop looking for a job and look for work!!

Update: If you want another viewpoint, see my friend Harry Tucker’s blog post.

Most kids that go to and graduate from college eventually work for businesses or start their own. So what percentage of college students bought Macs in preparation for the 2010-11 college year? Take a read.

Apple Selling Just As Many Computers As Dell To College Students

So, are you developers listening?

As an entrepreneur I’ve known that having a college education can open doors for you, but NOT have a college degree doesn’t stop you from pursuing your dreams.

Here’s a list of tons of people that have never finished school and went on to become successful.

Collegedropouthalloffame.com lists successful people and what they do.

If school is not the issue, what is stopping you?

As an entrepreneur you’re always looking out to solve problems, but where do we get this skill? Is creativity learned? Is it innate? How are our next generations going to solve some of our future problems?

There’s a new trend in the US school system that started in the 1990s: killing creativity. This Newsweek article “The Creativity Crisis” outlines where the US is diverging from the rest of the world in instilling kids with creativity.

Here’s an interesting article “College: most expensive than ever”, as if it’s the availability of money that is the problem. Has anyone looked at the what you get for what you pay for? Does that mean that book stores can’t supply a “college level” degree of experience at a less costly way or getting a “degree”? How about your local public library, or better yet, get a “library card” from your local community college and digest the books from there. But what is the difference between college and books from Amazon.com or your local Barnes and Noble.

College is more for those that want to work for others and less for entrepreneurship because universities and colleges offer far fewer courses for entrepreneurship. While  becoming a doctor, lawyer, biologist, or writer means you can learn at college, it does not stop you from learning on your own about starting your own business and getting the “school of hard knocks” experience rather than grades from teacher. But where are most of the jobs created? In small businesses. School will give you a head full of knowledge, not nearly the experience of failing in real life.

So, you can go to college if you want to, I have, but now that I’ve been I’ve learned more from “life” than I did at college.

It’s all about reading and learning, never about college.

For the best return on your money, pour your purse into your head. Benjamin Franklin