Career
Is Entrepreneurship in Your Kids' DNA?
By Sandra Stahl
Published August 29, 2010
| WomenEntrepreneur.com
One thing most entrepreneurs love to do is talk about being entrepreneurs. Topics range from what is the "entrepreneurial spirit" to who has it and who doesn't, and what it takes to be successful. As co-owner of jacobstahl, a public relations agency, with my husband, as well as a mother of three, my favorite question is whether entrepreneurship can be passed down to the next generation--and whether I want to encourage or discourage it in my own kids.
The nature/nurture issue has provoked Talmudic-level discussions, but there is scientific evidence that entrepreneurship is heritable. Scott Shane posted data in a New York Times blog last year indicating a genetic component. Along with his colleagues, Shane conducted behavioral genetics (twin) and molecular genetics (association) studies of entrepreneurship. His findings suggest the tendency to be an entrepreneur is in the DNA, as is the ability to perform well as an entrepreneur.
Nancy Caravetta isn't surprised. Caravetta has been an entrepreneur since 1998, and she's presently owner of Rx Entertainment in Los Angeles. "My dad was a very successful entrepreneur, and I definitely inherited that quality," she says. The mother of twin boys, Caravetta is keen to see the baton passed within the family.
The sacrifices of the entrepreneurial life are well-known to Mark and Kristin Kimball, who run Essex Farm in northern New York. Those sacrifices temper their enthusiasm for having their daughter continue their legacy.
"Mark and I would both be thrilled if Jane grows up to take over the farm, but only if it's as much her passion as it has been ours. I would never want her to do it out of duty, or because she had limited choices, or for us. Farming is too hard a choice to make for anything but a deep love of it," says Kristin, who chronicled her experiences in a book, A Dirty Life, to be released on October 12.
Pamela Spain of Moorestown, N.J., is keenly aware of passion, having traded hers for her pocketbook. She and her husband, Michael, tried their hands in separate businesses--a graphic design company for Pamela and an interior design firm for Michael. Pamela eventually gave up her business for a regular paycheck and the benefits of being a salaried employee. Now she makes a deliberate effort to encourage entrepreneurship in her daughters.
"I've seen all the signs for years in Erica, my 21-year-old," Pamela says. "I didn't follow my passion, but I have totally nurtured her talent in jewelry-making and metalwork and am committed to giving her the chance to make a go of it."
What are these signs and how are parents to recognize entrepreneurial traits in their children? According to Shane and his colleagues, parent entrepreneurs should look for extroversion, openness to experience, sensation-seeking, and the recognition of a business opportunity.
"Really?" says Monica Elias, arching an eyebrow. Elias and her two siblings are or have been entrepreneurs in individual endeavors, as is their father. She believes their achievements are due to their noncollaborative natures, a characteristic she's already seen in her two children. "All of us don't like working for other people," she says. "That's what makes us seek independence and total control over our work lives and, ultimately, our own success or failure."
As with most things entrepreneurial, finding the ideal path for guiding the next generation one way or the other is deeply personal. Some thoughts to consider:
- Money is what matters. Some parent entrepreneurs squarely focus their children on a financial end game. They encourage their children to seek money-making opportunities even if these lie outside their interests so they can experience the satisfaction and rewards of self-made income. "The creativity of the approach is not as important as actually making the money," Elias says.
- Follow the passion. Others devote themselves to helping children identify what thrills, motivates and drives them, and cross their fingers that it leads to something that pays. Instead of steering Erica toward a typical broad-based college experience, Pamela Spain directed her to small schools offering a specialty in complex metalworking. "Most people thought I was crazy; they said I was limiting her. I don't see it that way. I want Erica to do what she loves, and hopefully she'll figure out how to make a living with it."
- Push one way . . . Those who want to add their kids' names to the company letterhead say they involve them in the family business early and often, take them to work, talk "shop," give kids small tasks when possible, and encourage summer internships that will expose them to other ideas within the same field.
- . . . Or the other. Some parents take pains to ensure their children know both ends of the success spectrum. Says Kristin Kimball, "I want Jane to be clear there's no guarantee there's any reward waiting for her on the other side."
- Recognize the signs. Scientific study may have outlined the personality traits of an entrepreneur, but most parents don't need support recognizing the signs of an offspring's boredom or rebellion. Most say they try extra hard to be sensitive and respond accordingly, even backing off entirely.
- Light the competitive fire. Parents who want to give their kids an extra boost can turn to the myriad of youth entrepreneur camps, programs, grants and competitions.
As for me, I respect the power of passion, and I encourage my children to have the courage to find theirs. I have no illusions their paths will take them to the threshold of jacobstahl, and I am pretty sure I don't desire it. I do believe in the genetic nature of the entrepreneurial spirit, but I am neither sure of its dominance in my gene pool nor of its presence in my kids. Every now and then, though, I think I see sparks.
My 16-year-old daughter is spending four weeks this summer working at a PR agency across town and seems to be loving it. My 10-year-old son's latest money-making venture is to make colorful duct tape wallets, a new favorite hobby, and sell them. If he charges $4 for each wallet, he reasons, maybe people will give him $5 and let him keep the change. A chip off the old block? More likely his motivation is to earn enough money to buy another Xbox game. Either way, if he is successful, he will have found the sweet spot where his passion and his pocketbook intersect. What more can a parent entrepreneur ask for?
For more about giving kids an entrepreneurial boost, see "Entrepreneurial Tools Set Kids Up for Success."
Sandra Stahl and Jeremy Jacob are co-owners of jacobstahl inc., a full-service public relations firm with global capabilities specializing in health-care, consumer and corporate communications.
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9/06/2010
Is Entrepreneurship in Your Kids' DNA?
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