How to Teach Your Kids to Be Entrepreneurs by Writing a Book with Them

There’s something more important than the book

Art by Kate Cosgrove, in SantaToot (and representing my four kids)

I wanted to teach my young kids to be entrepreneurs. And I wanted to spend more time with them. So I decided to write a book with them.

“What if we make a million dollars, dad?”

I stared at my daughter. I didn’t know how to answer the question.

“Could we go to Disney World?” my daughter asked.

“Yes, we can go to Disney World,” I acquiesced. Who could resist a cute 5-year old?

And so we began. It was going to be a real and practical education. Previously, my wife and I have tried different ways of teaching the kids about money and business. I played CashFlow for Kids with my older ones. And we’ve used money tracking apps for kids. But this was the best idea I’ve had so far: write a book with them. A children’s book, of course.

How to Write a Book with Your Kids

Here’s what I did:

1. I asked the kids to help me write the book

2. I wrote a draft (from a story that I made up, and told the kids about 100 times)

3. I read the draft to them and figured out what they liked and didn’t like. (13 drafts in total, actually)

4. I consulted them about each step of the process. Who should edit? Who should illustrate? How much should we charge for the book? They participated in all of these decisions (though my wife and I ultimately chose).

5. I helped them understand how this is actually a business: costs, profits, marketing ideas (sell 10 and get a whoopee cushion), writing sequels, etc.

6. I tried to teach the kids how to give to charity from the revenue. My kids picked three charities (without any of my input actually). We decided to give a percentage of the revenue to charities that the kids selected. We would give the money together, so they could see and understand how to give and support our community.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I made mistakes. I could have done better in a few areas. I forgot a few things. We can definitely get better with our next books. But I’ve learned that making mistakes is part of the learning process — and I shared those mistakes and lessons with my kids.

The Best Part of the Process

As you might imagine, there are challenges working with kids. But I decided I would do the hard parts so that I could participate in the best parts.

And for me, the best part is that I can see their creativity being kindled — both as artists and as entrepreneurs. They have shared their own ideas with me. They want to write their own books. They are thinking of their own businesses. And it’s not only my own kids. My nieces and nephews told me their story ideas. My cousin told me her idea for a story. My friend’s daughter showed me her illustration and asked what I thought of her idea.

The best part of the book is the effect it has on other people.

Moving Forward

Together, we are setting goals as a family. There are a few goals to hit between releasing a book, though, and going to Disney World. But Disney is on the list.

The first book was released over a year ago — CinderToot. It was so much fun that we did it again. Book two was just released… SantaToot. And book three (Children of CinderToot) and book four (my personal favorite) are in the works.

I’ve said this before, but I can’t say it enough: we don’t sell books. We sell about 30 minutes of joy with a child. And I can’t think of a better thing in the world to sell.

I hope I’m showing my kids what it’s like to think like an entrepreneur.

I hope that the kids remember the lessons we’ve laughed about together.

I hope someone else is inspired about what we’ve done (and what we’re doing).

I hope that our stories bring joy to someone who needs it — whether a child or even an adult.

I hope I haven’t wasted my time — though I’m already sure I haven’t.

I’ve cherished every moment of the process with my kids (even my 4-year old loves it). And even though I thought I would be the one teaching them lessons, the truth is that they’ve taught me much more.

…

Learn the one lesson that has changed my life more than any other.