Entrepreneurial Exposure For Children: Sentosa KidZ Flea Experience (Part 1)

While not every child is set to be a Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson or Bill Gates; this does not mean there is little value in teaching the little ones to think like entrepreneurs. What does it mean to be an entrepreneur and how can we expose children to entrepreneurship in a way that is fun and engaging?

Sentosa Kidz Flea booths 2015

Father Stanley See believes one way of doing so is to expose his children to experiences. He and his 10 year old daughter, Hannah, will be taking part in this year’s Sentosa KidZ Flea. His reason? “To spend some meaningful time together and to expose his daughter to what it means to be an entrepreneur.” “I think this (Sentosa KidZ Flea) is a great platform to help my daughter see and learn that earning money is hard work.” he adds.

Through this experience, he hopes Hannah will be more daring to initiate conversations with strangers and learn to appreciate the value of money even more. Another aspect he hopes to inculcate in Hannah is to have the practice of doing charity work. “I also hope to instil in her the value and habit of giving back to society.” he shares. One aspect of the Sentosa KidZ Flea program is for PLAY-trepreneurs to give back to society by donating part of their proceeds to charity.

Stanley See and daughter Hannah

Stanley and his daughter, Hannah.

Encourage children to sell toys they have outgrown

When asked if he faced any obstacle during the preparation for business, Stanley recounts, “At the beginning, Hannah found it hard to let go of her toys. However, after convincing her that she has outgrown her toys and that the proceeds are for a good cause, she decided to let go for charity.”

Little Bosses Training Programme

KidZ Flea PLAY-trepreneur Training

Besides the soft skills, Hannah also learnt that making her stall looks attractive to passers-by is equally important. “I have to decorate my stall to attract buyers, take into consideration the cost when setting price and to be friendly when serving customers.” These were some of her takeaways from the ‘Little Bosses Training’ programme.

Stanley and his cousins have booked 2 stalls for their children to bond and have fun over the March Holiday. Although there was preparation work to do before setting up her booth, both father and daughter believe it is all worth it. For Hannah, she is excited to be selling together with her cousins at Sentosa KidZ Flea, and to meet fellow ‘bosses’ her age.

Preparation - Poster Making with father
Part of the preparation process: Children and parents brainstorm together on what to do.

The children wanted to do games stall so that they can play when there is customers. They worked and have fun at the same time preparing for their stall. For their stall name, one of the cousins wanted to call it Arcade, another wanted the name Rainbow. So Hannah combined and named it Rainbow Arcade! When asked how much she thinks she will earn at Sentosa KidZ Flea – Hannah says they will be earning enough to buy ice-cream for everyone!

Kidz flea Preparation - Game Test