There are innumerable reasons this idea of making your kids start a business before they start college is a great one, but one stood out to me. This Ray Sheen fellow made his two daughters start companies before college for a particular reason.
Perhaps most importantly, we thought it would help them figure out the perennial question — What do I want to do with my life? — before they had to choose the right college and declare a major.
The most valuable thing they gained, they now tell me, is the opportunity to figure out what they wanted to do. They got to try every aspect of running a business and see what they enjoyed.
I’ve always found it silly that we head into college without a clue as to how the world actually works outside of scoring in the high double digits on a piece of paper with questions on it. This solution, while mildly inconvenient and probably costly, is a great one.