What if we stopped preparing our children only to pass examinations and started preparing them to succeed in life? By Antony Odhiambo
Beyond the Classroom: Why Every Teenager Should Learn Personal Finance and Entrepreneurship
By Anthony Odhiambo
What if we stopped preparing our children only to pass examinations and started preparing them to succeed in life?
Our Children Need More Than Good Grades
Between the ages of 13 and 20, young people are at a critical stage of their lives. They are discovering who they are, developing their talents, making decisions about their futures, and beginning to understand how the world works.
During these years, parents and teachers often focus on academic performance. We encourage children to study hard, pass examinations, go to college, and find good jobs. While education is important, I believe we need to ask ourselves a difficult question: Are we preparing our children to make money, manage money, and become financially independent, or are we only preparing them to look for employment?
Our children deserve more than academic knowledge. They need practical life skills that will help them survive and thrive when they leave school and enter what I call the school of life.
Imagine a young person who graduates with excellent grades but does not know how to prepare a budget, save money, start a small business, evaluate an investment, or turn a talent into an income-generating opportunity.
That young person may be educated, but there are still important lessons they need to learn.
We must begin teaching our children about money, business, communication, technology, and entrepreneurship while they are still young enough to learn, experiment, and grow under our guidance.
My Personal Experience: What I Wish I Had Learned as a Teenager
When I look back at my life between the ages of 13 and 20, I often think about the opportunities I could have had if someone had introduced me to personal finance, entrepreneurship, and financial independence at that age.
Like many young people, I depended on my parents to provide for my needs. I was not adequately mentored on how to create income, develop marketable skills, or build a business that could eventually support me.
Even at the age of 28, I was still dependent on my parents financially.
Looking back, I realize that this is an important conversation we need to have as parents, guardians, teachers, and mentors. Sometimes, we love our children so much that we concentrate on providing everything for them without teaching them how to provide for themselves.
We buy them clothes, pay their school fees, provide food, and meet their needs. These are important responsibilities, but we must also prepare them for a time when we may no longer be able to provide everything they need.
Providing for children is important, but preparing them to provide for themselves is equally important.
I am not saying that parents should stop supporting their children. Rather, I believe we should combine our support with mentorship, practical experience, and opportunities for young people to develop independence.
I wish someone had taught me how money works, how businesses operate, how to identify opportunities, and how to turn an idea into something valuable.
Today, I want us to think differently about how we raise the next generation.
1. Teach Children Personal FinanceBefore They Become Adults
Personal finance should not be a subject that young people discover only after getting their first job or accumulating debt.
We should introduce children to financial literacy as early as possible, with lessons appropriate to their age.
Teenagers should understand:
The difference between needs and wants.
How to create and follow a budget.
How to save money consistently.
How interest works and why debt can become expensive.
How to set short-term and long-term financial goals.
How to compare prices and make informed spending decisions.
How bank accounts work.
How to recognize financial scams and fraudulent investment opportunities.
How credit works and why a good credit history matters.
How to distinguish between assets, liabilities, income, and expenses.
Parents can make these lessons practical by giving teenagers age-appropriate responsibility for managing a small amount of money.
For example, a parent might give a teenager $50 to manage for a particular period. Instead of spending it all immediately, the teenager could decide how much to save, how much to spend, and how much to set aside for a personal goal.
The purpose is not to make children rich overnight. It is to help them develop responsible financial habits before the financial decisions become bigger and more complicated.
2. Teach Teenagers How to Become Entrepreneurs
Not every young person will become a business owner, and not every teenager needs to start a company immediately. However, every teenager can benefit from learning how businesses work.
Entrepreneurship teaches young people to identify problems, develop solutions, communicate with customers, manage resources, and understand the value of money.
Parents should encourage teenagers to explore business ideas based on their interests, talents, and available resources.
For example, a teenager who enjoys fashion might learn how to design T-shirts. Someone who enjoys technology might develop a simple website. Another young person might enjoy photography, baking, tutoring, graphic design, or creating digital products.
These interests can become opportunities to learn business skills.
Teenagers should learn how to:
Identify a product or service people need.
Research potential customers.
Calculate the cost of producing a product.
Set a reasonable selling price.
Promote products and services.
Communicate professionally with customers.
Track sales, expenses, and profits.
Provide good customer service.
Reinvest some of their profits into growing the business.
The goal is to help children understand that earning money often involves solving problems and creating value for other people.
Instead of asking only, “What job will you get when you finish school?” we should also ask, “What problem can you solve, and what skills can you develop to create value?”
3. Introduce Teenagers to Online Business: Shopify, Amazon, and Concanto.com
We live in a digital world where businesses can reach customers far beyond their neighborhoods.
A teenager no longer needs to own a large physical shop to begin learning how e-commerce works.
With proper adult guidance, young people can learn how to research products, create product descriptions, understand branding, study customer behavior, and build an online business.
Shopify: Learning to Build an Online Store
Through platforms such as Shopify, young entrepreneurs can learn how online stores operate.
They can explore how to:
Select products for a specific audience.
Create an attractive online storefront.
Write product descriptions.
Take or source appropriate product photographs.
Understand online marketing.
Process orders and provide customer service.
Calculate costs, revenue, and profit.
Teenagers can begin by creating a mock store as a learning project before investing real money.
Because online selling platforms have age requirements and contractual rules, a parent or legal guardian should manage any account that requires an adult account holder.
Amazon Seller: Understanding the Marketplace
Young people can also learn about selling products through Amazon.
They can study how sellers research demand, compare competing products, manage inventory, price their products, and maintain customer satisfaction.
They should also learn that online selling involves expenses such as product costs, shipping, marketplace fees, advertising, and possible returns.
Revenue is not the same as profit. A business can make many sales and still lose money if its expenses are too high.
That is why financial literacy and entrepreneurship should be taught together.
Concanto.com: Building a Brand From an Idea
Consider the possibilities when a young person learns to create a brand rather than simply purchase products from other companies.
Through a brand such as Concanto.com, young entrepreneurs could explore fashion, clothing, merchandise, and other creative products.
A teenager interested in fashion could learn how to design a T-shirt, develop a brand identity, study customer preferences, and create marketing content.
They could start small, test their ideas, and learn from customer feedback before investing in large amounts of inventory.
The important lesson is that a business begins with an idea, but building a successful business requires research, discipline, creativity, and an understanding of customers.
We should give young people opportunities to develop these skills while they are still in school.
Note: Any real business activity should comply with applicable age requirements, business rules, and platform policies.
4. Teach Young People How to Earn Through Property and Hospitality
Another area worth exploring is the hospitality industry, including short-term rentals through platforms such as Airbnb.
Young people should understand that income can come from providing services and managing resources, not only from working a traditional job.
They can learn how short-term rental businesses operate, how hosts communicate with guests, how pricing works, how cleaning and maintenance affect costs, and why customer reviews matter.
They can also study the financial side of hospitality.
For example, if a property generates rental income, the owner or operator must account for expenses such as cleaning, utilities, maintenance, insurance, taxes, platform fees, and periods when the property is vacant.
The money left after expenses is what matters when evaluating profitability.
Teenagers do not need to own property to begin learning about this industry. They can research hospitality businesses, study business models, and explore lawful, age-appropriate ways of providing related services.
Parents should also explain that operating short-term rentals may require permission from property owners, compliance with local regulations, and adherence to platform rules.
The bigger lesson is to help young people understand how industries work and where opportunities may exist.
5. Encourage Teenagers to Learn App Development and Subscription Businesses
Technology has created opportunities for people to earn money by building digital products.
Imagine a teenager who notices that students in their school struggle to organize assignments. The teenager learns basic coding and develops an app that helps students track homework and deadlines.
If the app solves a real problem, people might be willing to pay for additional features through a subscription.
Other possibilities include educational apps, budgeting tools, language-learning applications, fitness planners, and productivity software.
Teenagers can begin by learning programming languages, designing simple user interfaces, and building basic applications.
They should also learn the business principles behind digital products:
Identify a problem worth solving.
Understand the intended users.
Build a simple version of the product.
Test it and gather feedback.
Improve it based on users’ needs.
Understand the cost of hosting, maintenance, and customer support.
Learn how subscriptions, pricing, and recurring revenue work.
A subscription business can generate recurring income, but success is never guaranteed. Developers must continue providing value, protecting users’ information, and maintaining their products.
Young people should also learn that creating an app is only one part of the process. A successful product needs useful features, reliable performance, good customer service, and an effective way to reach its intended audience.
6. Introduce Teenagers to Investing, Stocks, and Money Market Accounts
One of the most important financial lessons we can teach our children is that earning money is only part of the journey. Learning how to manage and grow it responsibly is equally important.
Teenagers should understand the difference between saving, investing, and speculating.
Money Market Accounts
A money market deposit account at a bank or credit union may provide interest while allowing access to savings under the account’s terms.
Young people should learn how interest is calculated, how fees affect returns, and how to compare account conditions.
They should also understand that deposit insurance, where applicable, depends on the financial institution and account type. A money market deposit account is different from a money market mutual fund, which is an investment product and is not FDIC-insured.
Buying Stocks
Teenagers can learn about stocks by studying how companies operate and why people invest in them.
They should understand that buying a stock means purchasing a small ownership interest in a company. The value of that investment can rise or fall, and investors may lose money.
Parents and educators can introduce young people to concepts such as diversification, long-term investing, compound growth, investment fees, and the relationship between risk and potential returns.
A stock market simulator can provide a useful opportunity to practice investment decisions without risking real money.
For minors who are ready to invest, a parent or guardian can investigate appropriate custodial investment accounts and explain their responsibilities and risks.
Forex Trading: Understand the Risks Before the Rewards
Foreign exchange, commonly known as forex, involves trading currencies.
Although some people earn money through forex trading, it is not a guaranteed or easy way to become wealthy. Currency prices can change rapidly, and leverage can magnify losses.
Teenagers should first learn about currency markets, risk management, and financial scams rather than being encouraged to trade real money.
They should be especially cautious of people on social media who promise guaranteed profits, display unrealistic lifestyles, or ask them to pay for secret trading signals.
The goal of financial education is not to teach children how to gamble with money. It is to teach them how to make informed decisions and protect what they earn.
Before young people begin investing, they need a strong foundation in saving, budgeting, risk, and responsible decision-making.
7. Teach Teenagers to Use Social Media as a Tool for Creativity and Income
Many teenagers already spend hours on social media watching videos, following trends, and interacting with other people.
But what if we taught them to use some of that time to develop valuable skills?
Social media can be more than entertainment. When used responsibly, it can help young people develop creative abilities, build an audience, promote products, and learn digital marketing.
Teenagers can explore:
Creating educational videos.
Producing original content.
Learning photography and video editing.
Designing graphics and digital products.
Promoting their own products or services.
Learning affiliate marketing and understanding its disclosure requirements.
Developing writing, storytelling, and presentation skills.
Studying how businesses communicate with customers online.
For example, a teenager who enjoys fashion could create videos about clothing design and styling. Someone interested in technology could produce tutorials. Another teenager might create educational content about mathematics, science, or financial literacy.
Over time, these activities may lead to opportunities such as paid creative work, brand partnerships, product sales, or platform monetization, depending on eligibility and audience demand.
However, parents must also teach young people about privacy, cyberbullying, online scams, digital footprints, and the risks of sharing personal information.
Children should understand that popularity does not automatically translate into income and that online success takes time, effort, and consistency.
We should teach them how to create value online rather than simply consume content.
8. Communication and Self-Defense Are Also Financial Skills
Financial independence requires more than knowing how to save or invest money.
Young people also need to know how to communicate effectively, negotiate, make decisions, set boundaries, and defend their interests.
A teenager may have a brilliant business idea but struggle to explain it to a potential customer.
Another may earn money but find it difficult to refuse friends who constantly ask for loans.
Someone else may encounter a dishonest business partner and fail to recognize when their rights are being violated.
This is why communication and personal safety should be part of preparing children for adulthood.
We should teach teenagers how to:
Express their thoughts clearly and respectfully.
Speak confidently in public.
Ask questions when they do not understand something.
Negotiate prices and resolve disagreements.
Recognize manipulation and financial exploitation.
Set healthy boundaries with friends and business partners.
Understand contracts before agreeing to them.
Seek help when facing threats, abuse, or unsafe situations.
Protect their personal information and money.
Advocate for themselves at school, work, and in the community.
Self-defense includes physical safety, but it also includes knowing how to stand up for yourself, recognize danger, and make responsible decisions.
These skills can help young people become more confident and independent as they enter adulthood.
9. Parents Must Become Mentors, Not Just Providers
Parents play a major role in shaping how their children understand money and responsibility.
We should not assume that children will automatically learn financial management simply because they grow up in a household where adults earn money.
Many young people see their parents working hard, paying bills, and providing for the family without understanding how the household budget works or how financial decisions are made.
We can change that by involving them in age-appropriate conversations about money.
For example, parents can explain how they compare prices when shopping, why they save for emergencies, how they plan for major expenses, and why they avoid unnecessary debt.
They can encourage children to start small businesses, participate in supervised financial projects, and learn from their mistakes.
If a teenager starts a small business and makes a poor decision, the experience can become a lesson in planning, budgeting, and evaluating risks.
Of course, parents should establish reasonable limits and protect children from serious financial losses. The purpose is to provide a safe environment where young people can learn.
We should also stop making children feel ashamed when they ask questions about money. Financial education should be an open conversation, not a secret reserved for adults.
Our children should not have to wait until they are 28, 35, or 40 to begin learning lessons that could have helped them become more independent at 15 or 18.
10. Schools Should Prepare Students for the Real World
Schools have an important role to play in this transformation.
Academic subjects remain essential, but practical financial education and entrepreneurship should receive greater attention.
Imagine a school where students learn mathematics and also apply it to calculating business profits.
Imagine students studying technology while developing simple applications to solve everyday problems.
Imagine teenagers learning how to write a business plan, market a product, prepare a budget, understand taxes, and present their ideas to potential customers.
Students could participate in supervised business projects, school markets, coding clubs, financial literacy workshops, and entrepreneurship competitions.
They could also learn about career planning, digital safety, employment rights, and the responsibilities that come with earning money.
These experiences would help bridge the gap between classroom learning and real-world responsibilities.
Not every student will become an entrepreneur, but every student can benefit from understanding money, business, communication, and problem-solving.
The objective is not to replace academic education. It is to make education more relevant to the realities young people will face after graduation.
11. A Practical Financial Education Plan for Ages 13–20
Parents and educators can introduce these skills gradually, depending on the young person’s maturity, interests, and circumstances.
Ages 13–15: Build the Foundation
At this stage, teenagers can learn about budgeting, saving, spending wisely, identifying scams, communicating confidently, and understanding the difference between needs and wants.
They can also explore simple business ideas, learn basic coding, and practice creating content safely.
Ages 16–18: Develop Practical Skills
Teenagers can begin developing business plans, learning digital marketing, researching e-commerce, studying stocks and savings products, and practicing with investment simulators.
They can also explore part-time work, supervised business projects, customer service, and age-appropriate ways to earn money.
Ages 18–20: Prepare for Greater Independence
Young adults can build more advanced financial skills, explore appropriate business registration requirements, learn about taxes, develop professional networks, and study investment strategies.
They can also learn how to evaluate business opportunities, understand contracts, manage income, and make informed decisions about education, employment, and entrepreneurship.
The key is to start early, build gradually, and provide opportunities to put the lessons into practice.
Conclusion: Let Us Raise Financially Empowered Children
I believe we need to rethink what it means to prepare our children for success.
Good grades are valuable. Degrees are valuable. Professional careers are valuable. But our children also need practical skills that help them navigate a world where opportunities and challenges continue to change.
They need to understand money. They need to know how businesses work. They need digital skills, creativity, confidence, communication, and the ability to make responsible decisions.
Most importantly, they need guidance from adults who are willing to teach them what they know and help them learn what they do not yet understand.
When I reflect on my own journey, I think about the things I could have learned between the ages of 13 and 20. I think about how earlier mentorship might have helped me develop independence sooner.
I cannot go back and change those years, but I can share the lesson with other parents, educators, and communities.
Let us give the next generation a better starting point.
Let us teach our children how to earn money ethically, save consistently, invest wisely, create businesses, use technology productively, communicate confidently, and protect themselves from financial exploitation.
Let us encourage them to become creators of opportunities, not just seekers of opportunities.
And let us remember that financial independence does not mean children must face life alone. It means we have equipped them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to make informed decisions while knowing when to seek guidance.
Our responsibility is not only to raise children who can pass examinations. It is to raise young people who can think critically, create value, manage money, solve problems, and face the world with confidence.
The school of life will eventually test every child. Let us prepare them before they enter it.
The question for every parent is this: Are you only preparing your child to get a job, or are you also preparing them to understand money, create opportunities, and build a financially responsible future?
Let us start the conversation today.