Spontaneous Youth Entrepreneurship

So far, 356 heroes have stepped up to get Project Wise Walker within striking distance of our crowd funding campaign on Kickstarter. By any measure, that’s amazing support and we couldn’t be more humbled or grateful. But with less than 24 hours left to go and a 10% gap to close, we could use a few more heroes.

Here’s the link if you can help: http://rjc3.co/ww

Wise Walker really is a fantastic product. Every time I walk Lola I realize its value and I would seriously miss it if it were gone.  But there’s more to Wise Walker than just the best darn dog walking accessory ever made.  Wise Walker is also about youth entrepreneurship and a dad on a mission to release two powerful women on the world.  Here’s a story to show you what I mean.

One Saturday last year, about six months into our entrepreneurial adventure, Sarah and Annalise had their friend, Sehoya, over for a play day.

They were all in their bedroom playing quietly. As some of you parents know, that’s not always a good thing. I peaked in the door to check on them and they were all on the top bunk with a laptop computer and clipboards.

Their reaction to the intrusion was immediate and . “Dad! Go away!” “Get outta hear… this is private!” Very quickly scanning the scene I deduced that trust was called for and I just as quickly ducked back out. I let them know (talking through the door) that we would be heading over to Student RND soon.

Student RND was a hacker space for youth that has since shut down. But the team behind Student RND went on to expand the now-national “Code Day” program they had created at the space.

The plan for our day at Student RND was the usual: take some things apart, attach some wires to some batteries to see what happens, maybe build a contraption or two. Oh yeah, and cutting parts out of wood and acrylic on the laser cutter. 😉 Today’s special project was going to be a personalized wooden keepsake box for Sehoya’s birthday.

While I was getting the laser setup, the girls had setup chairs in a circle to continue whatever it was they had started in the bedroom earlier that day. They were intent on keeping their activity a dad-free zone. They had clipboards, so that’s cool.

Turns out, what they had been working on was their own business plan. They wanted to create the first ever large and exotic pet sitting service — tigers, elephants, turtles, snakes, giraffes, guinee pigs horses of course. The talked about the kind of facility they’d need (big) and what it would cost to build and run the business (a lot), what they would charge customers (enough).  It was the full meal deal and I couldn’t have been more proud.

It’s impossible to know today whether Sarah or Annalise will go on to someday become noted women entrepreneurs, creating a product or service that solves real problems and create jobs.

What I do know is that Annalise and Sarah as 12-year-olds are gaining an understanding of entrepreneurship that is preparing them to take on the challenges of entrepreneurship if they choose to. In the mean time, the lessons, skills, experiences and confidence that have come from Project Wise Walker has been an amazing gift for a father to share with his daughters.

I’m looking forward to sharing those lessons, skills and experiences with other families who want to explore entrepreneurship together. I can’t share the confidence; but trust me, it will come from within.

All the best,

Bob