What Should Be in an Entrepreneurship Textbook in High School?
To ensure that high school entrepreneurship textbooks are comprehensive and effective, we asked six professionals from various industries to share their insights. From navigating early business challenges to emphasizing business planning, these experts provide valuable advice on what should be included in a high school entrepreneurship textbook.
- Navigating Early Business Challenges
- Mastering Marketing and Branding
- Balancing Skills and Capital
- Developing Practical Skills
- Cultivate a Growth Mindset
- Emphasize Business Planning
Navigating Early Business Challenges
Anyone who’s ever started a business will tell you that the first few months or even a year are going to be more than a challenge. It is a crucial trial phase that can be a good indicator of whether your company will or will fail in the long run and whether you have what it takes.
That’s why entrepreneurship textbooks in high school should thoroughly explore all the issues and challenges of the beginning stages of a business’s journey. Young people should be prepared for whatever the world will throw at them as they become entrepreneurs themselves.
Natalia Brzezinska
Marketing and Outreach Manager, ePassportPhoto
Mastering Marketing and Branding
So many entrepreneurs start businesses out of passion. They want to help people and they believe in their product! They love serving others! Too often, they forget that the engine of entrepreneurship isn’t your product or service—it’s your marketing.
Having worked with dozens of entrepreneurs to write and publish their books, I’ve seen so much panic come from marketing neglect. Entrepreneurs find themselves on a treadmill of struggle because they can’t seem to focus on building their brand—they’re too busy doing the fun stuff. And, for most entrepreneurs, the fun stuff isn’t marketing.
High school students interested in entrepreneurship need to understand that building a business means building a brand. People can’t buy things they’ve never heard of. With the right combination of market positioning and outreach, almost any business can thrive—usually beyond the entrepreneur’s wildest dreams.
But that marketing takes work. The earlier entrepreneurs understand that, the better.
Amanda Edgar
CEO and Certified Ghostwriter, DAS Author Services
Balancing Skills and Capital
A young person needs a proper understanding of the likely timeline of skills vs. capital. Most high schoolers will be capital poor and have skills sufficient upon graduation or graduating from college. Because money doesn’t grow on trees, that means it’s incumbent to focus the early part of your entrepreneurship on the skills you bring to the table.
The young entrepreneurs I have known are successful because they work like crazy and take minority positions in their deals so they can raise capital. Add forty years and they become the capital side of the ledger, but it only matters if you can survive long enough and with a few wins to make that happen.
Trevor Ewen
COO, QBench
Developing Practical Skills
One thing that should be in an entrepreneurship textbook in high school is a focus on building practical skills and competencies that can help students develop a successful business. This could include topics like market research, budgeting and financial management, marketing and advertising, and project management. The textbook should highlight real-world examples of entrepreneurs who have succeeded in areas like product development, marketing, financing, and scaling their businesses.
Brenton Thomas
CEO, Twibi Digital Marketing Agency
Cultivate a Growth Mindset
Without a doubt, one thing that should be in an entrepreneurship textbook in high school is a discussion on adopting a growth mindset. Entrepreneurship is all about problem-solving and adapting to new challenges, which is why a growth mindset is a crucial trait for any aspiring entrepreneur.
This mindset involves embracing challenges, persisting through obstacles, learning from criticism, and constantly seeking new opportunities for growth and development. By teaching students how to cultivate this way of thinking early on, they can gain the confidence and resilience needed to succeed in the ever-evolving world of entrepreneurship.
Encouraging students to view failure as a lesson and an opportunity for growth, rather than a setback, is a key component in building this mindset. Ultimately, fostering a growth mindset in students can help them develop the entrepreneurial spirit necessary to launch successful businesses and make a positive impact on the world.
Basana Saha
Founder, KidsCareIdeas
Emphasize Business Planning
One thing that should be included in an entrepreneurship textbook in high school is the importance of a business plan and its components, such as the executive summary, market analysis, and financial projections. It should also discuss how to write a mission statement and set SMART goals. As an example, the textbook could include a quote from Guy Kawasaki, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, who said, “A good business plan is like a good elevator pitch—concise, interesting, and persuasive.”
Tiffany Payne
Head Of Content, PharmacyOnline.co.uk
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