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Entrepreneurs Learn to Believe in Themselves When Their Mothers Believe in Them

By on July 31, 2024
entrepreneurship

By Margot Machol Bisnow

I had an epiphany about 12 years ago that parents of entrepreneurs must raise their children differently. I started asking lots of successful Millennial entrepreneurs how they had turned out the way they did — what made them successful.

Astoundingly, almost all of them gave me the same answer: My mom believed in me. My mom told me I could succeed at anything I put my mind to if I worked at it hard enough.

I was stunned. I started asking more and more successful entrepreneurs the same question. And I kept getting the same answer. This revelation led me to research and write a book about it. And over the last 10 years, I’ve been speaking to different groups of parents about the way in which their support can lay the groundwork for their budding entrepreneurs.

So many young people today are aimless and depressed. Why? What are those parents doing differently than the parents of the successful entrepreneurs?

For the first time ever, most Americans want to become entrepreneurs. But how do parents raise their children so they have the right skills to succeed? Many parents resist letting their children figure out their own path because they think it means encouraging pursuits that aren’t serious. But only pursuing what their parents think will make them successful results in young people becoming dispirited and unhappy.

So, what should you do to raise entrepreneurial children who thrive, who are confident, who are resilient, who are fearless, and who are filled with joy? It’s actually shockingly straightforward. Just like the moms of all those successful entrepreneurs: You have to believe in your child.

That sounds pretty obvious. Doesn’t every mother believe in her child? Actually, no. Every mom may love her child. Every mom may want her child to be happy and successful. But that doesn’t mean they actually believe in the child.

Note the different messages conveyed in what these mothers are saying to their children:

Showing little belief in their child: “I know how much you like singing/ writing poetry/ playing soccer/ selling lemonade/ playing video games/ designing clothes/ making movies,… but you need to stop wasting so much time on that and start studying so you can get into a good college and land a good job.

Showing belief in their child: I love that you have found your passion and that you’re working so hard and getting so good at it. I can’t wait to see everything you’re going to accomplish.

This is so important. We all want what’s best for our children — or what we think is best for them. But it’s a different world from the one we grew up in. They don’t need to follow the same path that we did.

Even if you don’t understand the thing that makes their heart sing, let them do it. Encourage them to keep going. And let them know how proud you are for their success in that.

Let your child dive deeply into a pursuit. Let them work really really hard at it. Let them struggle. Let them try different approaches when one isn’t working. Let them learn to win and lose and realize that losing is how they are learning and getting better. No one becomes an entrepreneur who is afraid to take risks. And no one takes risks if they’re only praised for their success.

When children become really good at something that they have chosen and that they have worked hard at, they develop confidence. And when their passion changes as they get older, they will still be confident, because they’ll have learned that when they work really hard at something that they get really good at it. No one becomes an entrepreneur who doesn’t believe that they can conquer something they put their mind to.

Believing in your children means having complete trust in them — even when their road is rough or their choices aren’t the ones you would have made. It means understanding that your children won’t be successful at everything they try, but that ultimately that’s a good thing because without struggle there is no growth.

Believing in your children means supporting them as they figure out their passion, and as they work to explore their passion. It means celebrating their triumphs with them as well as being there with them as they recover from inevitable setbacks.

Becoming an entrepreneur is not for everyone. Still, if your child takes the traditional career path, your unwavering support and belief in them will only add to their self-confidence and happiness.

But if your child decides that the entrepreneurial route is the one they want to take, what a wonderful journey it will be. And with your love your trust and your belief in them, your child will boldly be able to start this adventure. And they will be filled with joy because they’ll be doing what they love and know that they have your support.

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entrepreneur believe in themselves

Margot Machol Bisnow spent 20 years in government, including as an FTC Commissioner and staff director of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. For the last 10 years, she has spoken to parent groups about raising creative, confident, resilient children who achieve their dreams. She served as an Advisor to EQ Generation, an after-school program in New York City that gives children the skills to succeed; on the Advisory Board of the MUSE School in Malibu, that prepares young people to live consciously through passion-based learning; and on the Board of Spark the Journey in Washington DC, that mentors low-income high school students to achieve college and career success. Her new book is Raising an Entrepreneur: How to Help Your Children Achieve Their Dreams – 99 Stories from Families Who Did. Learn more at raisinganentrepreneur.com.

 

Facebook: raisinganentrepreneur1
LinkedIn: Margot-machol-bisnow
Instagram: margotbisnow

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