Could Your Kid be the Next Internet Mogul?

Kids and the Virtual Economy – A Blessing and a Curse

I was in a discussion yesterday with a colleague at work and it got me thinking. We covered a gamut of topics as we moved from one area of conversation to the next. During our talk he started to reflect on the days when he was a kid and how they used to have odd jobs around the neighborhood to make money.

He talked about paper routes, shoveling driveways, selling stuff from your wagon, and mowing neighbors’ grass. All of these were standard practice for kids growing up in the 70s and 80s. I did the same thing. I remember waking up before the sun to roll-up, rubber band, and package newspapers into my canvas bag. Even if it was painful for a kid to wake up so early, there was still a great thrill when you threw the bag over your shoulders and set out on your bike to fling papers anywhere but on the customer’s front step. I also remember working parade routes with my wagon full of soda and selling to anyone looking for some relief from the heat. Or standing up impromptu lemonade stands on the corner of our street and waving down cars as they passed. Perhaps this was an early indication of my entrepreneurial spirit.

So what about today’s kids?

He offered his opinion that today’s kids don’t do things like they used to. They don’t go out and get a job. Parents always take over and do everything for their kids. As he was talking, I found myself exploring his statements and I started to realize not only was it true, but that there was both good and bad in the situation – a blessing and a curse.

The Curse

Let’s start with the bad news since most people want to ultimately leave on a positive note. Kids today don’t understand the value of money. Of course there are some kids that do, but at a very fundamental level and generally speaking, kids don’t get it. Think about it. When was the last time your child carried, or even held $20? My kids rarely carry cash. For that matter, I rarely carry cash. Almost everything I do revolves around credit/debit cards and digital transactions.

Online banking, online shopping, and in-store point of sale purchases using cards is the norm. How many people pay cash these days? Do you feel just a little awkward when you hand over a $20 and wait to receive change? Who really wants coins anyway? Now I just have to find a place to put them since they will inevitably fall out of my pocket as soon as I sit in my car.

In the coming years, with the adoption of Near Field Communication (NFC) and other technologies, more and more people will simply pay with their smart phones rendering your traditional wallet obsolete. The ability to pay for goods and services will continue to get easier and easier.

It’s no wonder kids have lost touch with how much a dollar is really worth. I was recently reminded of this when I took my newly licensed teen driver to the gas station to teach her how to fuel up. When the nozzle clicked, she checked the gauge, and said, “wow, that cost $40?” I said, “Yes, welcome to reality. You need to go get a j.o.b.”

Now think about the App Store, Amazon movies, and other online capabilities. The ease at which a child, who has never earned money from labor, can click a button and buy something is remarkable. As parents, we often feel the brunt of this simple transaction when we start seeing the charges roll in.

It’s so easy today to conduct a purchase without ever touching, or valuing, the currency for which it represents.

The Blessing

That last statement is exactly why there is a blessing. No longer do kids need to tote around a wagon full of soda at their local parade. They don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn and embark on an early morning ritual of slinging papers to 30 houses in the neighborhood.

The ability to conduct online transactions with minimal effort, and general acceptance by society, has opened doors for today’s kids that never existed in the past. Now instead of hustling soda from your wagon on your town’s Main Street, you can open an online store and sell whatever you want – worldwide. Instead of shoveling driveways for a couple of neighbors and making $10 on a Saturday afternoon, now you can write an app, sell it for $.99, and make $100 while you sleep.

As has been documented on this site, my daughters lead hectic lives. Between dance, soccer, track, and various school events they barely have time to sleep. When my oldest got her driver’s license she wasn’t sure where she might get money to afford gas and other things teens want to buy. Typically you’d tell them to get a job. However, given her load of activity, this really isn’t feasible. But, there are other ways to make money today. I let her know that she could explore various things online and make money in non-traditional ways. Why limit yourself to a part time gig in a retail store making minimum wage when you can explore online possibilities? While there are initial time commitments for any online endeavor, the ability to generate passive income later is quite appealing for today’s busy youth.

I know, I know, there are valuable lessons that can be gained from working a real job. You learn responsibility, respect for authority, how to conduct yourself in a real business, how to interact face-to-face with customers, etc. All I’m saying is there are other options out there that can be explored. Other options that expand their creativity, foster innovation, and teach an understanding of the global economy.

Today we live in a world where borders really don’t exist. The ability for people, including kids, to offer goods and services worldwide has never been easier to accomplish. Traditional barriers to entry such as cost and skill level are no longer an impediment to achieving something remarkable. For a minimal amount of money and limited technical knowledge, you can rather quickly stand something up online. More and more people are doing it – building online stores, offering services, and engaging in the new frontier of the virtual economy.

Don’t limit your kid’s vision to your neighbor and his grass, cultivate their passions and expose them to the world and its possibilities.