Mom Owned and Operated
Candid conversations with and for moms about the real deal of raising a family, running a business, and remembering yourself.
Tired of the fluff and just want real talk about what it takes to succeed as a mompreneur? Then you've come to the right place.
Join your host, business growth strategist Rita Suzanne, as she dives into the nitty-gritty of building a business while raising a family. With over 10 years of experience helping women entrepreneurs thrive, Rita knows what it takes to make it all work.
In each episode, Rita sits down with inspiring mom business owners to uncover the strategies, mindsets, and tactics that are actually making a difference in their lives and businesses.
Tune in and discover the secrets to building a successful business without sacrificing your family or yourself.
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Mom Owned and Operated
Teaching Kids Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship with Anna Scoby
In this episode of the Mom Owned and Operated podcast, Rita Suzanne and Anna Scoby discuss raising a family, running a business and remembering yourself.
Anna is a communication coach with a wealth of experience in the business world. With a degree in Business Management and a Master's degree in communication, she has accumulated over 25 years of experience.
Anna has excelled in managing sales teams in the tech industry and has proven herself a successful entrepreneur. Her achievements include being a top sales manager and an award-winning speaker. For the past eight years, Anna has dedicated her efforts to running an educational nonprofit that empowers youth with essential communication, leadership, and entrepreneurship skills.
You can connect with Anna on Instagram and Facebook. Buy a copy of the book, The Young Entrepreneur's Handbook, on Amazon.
Send a text message! Email, if you want a reply though. ;)
P.S. You can find more interviews at momownedandoperated.com and learn about working with Rita at ritasuzanne.com/apply/
Hi, this is Mom Owned and Operated. I am Rita, suzanne, and today I have my guest Anna with me and I'm so excited to chat with you all about kids and money. Let's talk about it. So please tell the audience all about you, your business and your family.
Anna Scoby:Hello, I am Anna excited to be here. I am a speaker, a communication coach and an entrepreneur, and I am here to talk about all of this, so I'm ready for questions.
Rita Suzanne:Yes, yes, so you have a book and it's about teaching kids how to deal with money, so let's talk about that.
Anna Scoby:Yes, I have a book and I wanted to start with really a question and a story. The reason this book came to life is because my kids started to ask questions about money and I didn't want them to be entitled. I didn't want them to think that money just come from the wallet and it comes out like, hey, can I have the money? Oh, yeah, sure, let me just. Yeah, here we go, because you know there's a tree on the back of the of the house. It's like, yeah, here, poof, they just come out. And I didn't want them to feel like there is no tree and we don't have any, because I grew up thinking that we didn't have the money, so I grew up with the fear that there's not enough money, so I always grew up with the scarcity mindset. I grew up fearing that there is no money and therefore I wanted my children to feel that they have the control over money, because I didn't have that feeling.
Anna Scoby:So, as a parent, I wanted them to have that feel of they have control over money At the same time, I didn't want them to feel like we have all the money in the world because we didn't have all the money in the world. So I wanted to have that balance. So I wanted them to learn that if they need the money, they can earn the money and they can be creative about the money. And I wanted to make sure that they didn't have my fear of not having enough money. So I have this dilemma of not having enough money. So I have this dilemma. So I've learned how to conquer that dilemma. And I had teachers, I had books and I started teaching entrepreneurship because I wanted my kids to have the growth mindset about the money. So my kids started when they were five, started when they were five, and that book is about our journey.
Anna Scoby:For the last seven years, with my kids and my students, we have been going to the markets, to the fairs, to the business fairs and practicing an idea. So in this book we have captured our journey. We have talked about how did we learn to earn the money, how do we teach our kids to earn the money? And it's our journey and it is a workbook, so any of the parents can take this book and go through. How do we start with the idea? What are the steps to get to the market and learn and teach our children how to earn that first paycheck or to put that first money in their pocket? I got distracted and I totally forgot what was the question no, that was great.
Rita Suzanne:That was that was. That was completely great, because it reminds me of um okay, so I have four kids right and my, I have my two sons and then I have my two nieces because my sister passed. And that was the whole reason why I started this podcast was because I was kind of had a traumatic event and I was overwhelmed and all of the things right. So when my nieces came to me, initially they were staying with me and they didn't have any of their things and I had a book that was for kids and it was all about how to become a millionaire as a kid.
Rita Suzanne:And my niece, she, was bored, so she read the book and she took that book and the next day wrote down.
Rita Suzanne:She did all of the things that they told her to do and then she, the next day, decided that she was going to walk dogs.
Rita Suzanne:Can I tell you that this child is, or was, afraid of dogs, but she decided in her mind that that was the job that she was going to do. She didn't walk any dogs, but she went around to the neighborhood and she offered to walk dogs and the neighbors were so impressed by her tenacity that, or you know, or even like the fact that she wanted to, that they were, you know, giving, giving them donations to, you know, to inspire them and kind of help them along. And so I think that and that empowered them, my all of my kids, because they saw the other, they saw her, and then the rest of them were like, oh my gosh, I can do this too. And so I think that there's so much power in seeing your siblings, or even another kid, doing something like that, like you said, at five years old, going to a fair or wherever, and making money. And so what are some of the steps that you recommend for them to like, kind of get started?
Anna Scoby:So that's what you were saying. That's the idea, it's the empowerment. It's not necessary. The money making, it's a bonus because that comes later. That's the idea of the gross mindset, the idea of them believing and feeling it that they have a say. They have a choice, whether it's a choice to walk the dog even though you're afraid of it, whether it's a choice to walk the dog even though you're afraid of it, or a choice of drawing a picture and saying, hey, would you like to buy this picture. They are choosing to have control over making the money versus a choice to say, oh, I don't have any money or oh, I'm broke. So it's the choice we're teaching them to make, that choice. So the first step in this book is really making that choice, the choice of take control over. Do I want to make that choice? A difference I want to make. I want to make a change I want to make it like.
Rita Suzanne:It lets them know right. It lets them know that they can do something. Even though you're a kid, you can do something.
Anna Scoby:Yeah, you can make something. You can make a choice to walk into your garage and to say what do I have here that can be useful for me to make something? That can be useful for me to make something. So the first, really the book is broken into chapters and it goes through 12 chapters from an idea of thinking okay, what can I make? What can I do with what I have. So it's not about thinking of I'm going to be a millionaire. No, it's not that. Because the first idea is really making that choice of thinking what can I do realistically? Can I draw something? Can I make something? And then thinking, okay, can I interest others in this idea? Would others want it? Can I make money out of it? And then we slowly go into okay, can I make money with this? Because sometimes kids want to make things just to make things.
Anna Scoby:So we go through the process of simple business analysis and a business plan Does this make sense? Can this make profit? Does it take time to make one thing versus I would have to make 20 things to sell it? And does it make sense to sell it? Return on investment? Right, if it's going to make me, if I'm going to spend $10 to make one thing, but I can only sell it for a dollar. This isn't going to be a business idea, right? And then we go a little bit into I'm sorry, a little bit into the marketing idea, right? Can I tell a story about it? How do I sell it? So there's a template here for each one of the steps. There is a worksheet here. There are different steps of how to do it. There are little doodle pages here, so don't get bored. There is a little badges here, so they earn little badges for each step. There are different skills that they earn. They learn per chapter the time management, the commitment, the perseverance. We talk a little bit about it. We'll put a little quote, which you know what?
Anna Scoby:My favorite part in here in this book it's written in two languages. It's written in a language for parents my part that I wrote and it's written in a kid language. I love that. I wrote it with my daughter, so she wrote it in a kid language. So there is two pages per chapter adult language, mine and a kid language. So she wrote it because she said Mom, you're writing it for parents in a parent's language, I'm going to write it in a kid language. So she wrote it because she said mom, you're writing it for parents in the parent's language, I'm going to write it in a kid language, so they like it. So she wrote it for kids. So, even if a kid or a child, whichever language we want to choose to be inclusive, even if a young learner, young entrepreneur, wants to do it by themselves, there is a young entrepreneur language.
Anna Scoby:So my entrepreneurs are sharing their tips and there are stories in here that my young entrepreneurs added their stories of their journey in this entrepreneurship. So they shared things that worked for them and things that didn't work. So there are stories here of oh, that didn't work at all, or this worked, or this didn't work. And there's one of my favorite stories here. One entrepreneur said I wanted to do this, but my mom said it didn't work, it's not going to work. But guess what? I sold out of the product and we all celebrated because the idea worked. Those are the cool stories. So the book is filled with stories, tips from young entrepreneurs, tips from parents. The parents would say, ok, don't say this to your entrepreneur, because that's not a good idea.
Rita Suzanne:Right, right.
Anna Scoby:So I'm sorry.
Rita Suzanne:No, no, no. I think it love the two different perspectives too, because, like you said, it's relatable for the kids, but it also has the perspective of a parent who is. And it's not necessarily for only for parents who are already business owners right, it's for parents who may be not business owners as well, correct?
Anna Scoby:And have no idea what they do. And that's why I wanted to do this in the book, because some parents who reached out to me saying I want to teach, or I want to help my kids, but I don't know where to start. Like I've never done this, I've never been an entrepreneur, I'm a corporate like I'm an engineer, I'm a doctor, I'm a corporate person, I'm an engineer, I'm a doctor. Like I'm a corporate person. Like I have no idea what this entrepreneurship is all about, but I want my kids to learn. Like I want my kids to know how this works. And they asking me how to earn the money, but I don't know how to teach them. So this is why I wanted to put this in the book, because this is, this is a step by step to help them.
Rita Suzanne:Yeah, and it's. It helps the parent to support the goals and aspirations of the kid without them. You know, like, like the one parent was like no, no, no, you know, but little did they know that it was actually going to work. I think that that's amazing. I think that you know, the whole thing is is great, and I love the aspect of really finding what around you you can do, versus like, hey, mom or dad, I'm going to need $500 for you to invest in my kid business, right?
Anna Scoby:Well, yes, but there's also a chapter here where the kids kind of start by selling their ideas to the parents as an investors. So if they do need an additional supplies or they need an additional investment, they do make that pitch to their parents and say that I have done my research, I have done my numbers and I still need an additional investment, I still need to buy glue sticks or I still need to buy boxes or I still need to buy these things. So the young entrepreneur goes through this process of analyzing and doing the pitch to the parents. So the parents get their buy-in and also, yes, so there's a process.
Rita Suzanne:I think that's important, because I know fully grown adults who don't even do a business plan or any market research or anything of that nature or have to pitch their idea really to anyone, and so for them it's really foundational right, because they're now they're they're learning how to get up in front of somebody. Which is one of the hardest things to do is to present your idea to someone with confidence and clearly articulate it and and really be clear on all of the aspects of it and get somebody to like, buy into that. And even if it is your parents, because sometimes getting your parent behind you can be really a challenging thing, especially if they have a lot of other responsibilities that they need to take care of as well.
Anna Scoby:It's here and those steps are here because we have to do it with my students. We have to ask for financial support from the parents and the steps are here because we have done it. This is not a hypothetical role play scenarios. This is the real life for the last seven years. This is something that we've done. This is something that this is a real life and that's on the cover. This is the real life steps that we do when we go to the markets.
Anna Scoby:There is also steps here for how do you find the markets around you. We go to the farmer's markets, we go to the holiday markets around us, and there are steps here of how to find the markets. There are steps here how to talk to the markets to be a part of them. There are more and more markets who are welcome young entrepreneurs. There are more and more markets who specifically even have spots for the young entrepreneurs. So for those parents who are listening to us and thinking I'm not doing all of that, it's really not that hard. Sometimes it's just as simple as just sending an email. You don't even have to have a face-to-face interaction. Very often cities would have events for just young entrepreneur markets and you would just send an email. So it's for those parents who do feel intimidated or saying I've never done sales, it's not my thing, it just send in an email.
Anna Scoby:There is also a reflection part in here, because often we go through the motion and we don't. We're kind of like, okay, next thing, next thing, next thing. But if we don't reflect and if we don't celebrate our victories, if we don't look back and go through, this is something that I've done very well and this is something that I can do better. This is a very important element of learning process because that's how we go and sink in, this is how we go deeper learning and that's how we retain the skills on the feeling level, because it's not just in our minds but it's in our hearts. So there's a reflection part in here. So those are all pieces that we do and it's all part of the book.
Rita Suzanne:I think that's important too, and we talked briefly when we first started the call. We talked about the age of who the book was written for and you mentioned that your I'm sorry you said son or daughter was five when you started with this and but it sounds like this could be for pretty much any age, it sounds like this could be for pretty much any age.
Anna Scoby:It depends. It depends on maturity of the young entrepreneur, it depends on the parents, the family, when we were writing this book. I've had from nine to 13 year old students who had done this book with me and they did just fine.
Rita Suzanne:I could see my teenagers doing this book, and that's what, and that's what I'm saying, like I could see I don't think it's specifically written for, you know, young, young ages I feel like them at their age could actually benefit for but from something like this as well, because there are so many things in place and that it gives them, step by step by step, that they could go through it and figure out what's the process, what do you really want to do? And I think that a lot of times, especially in a teenage age, they don't really know what they want to do, and maybe it would help them to think outside the box, because often, you know, the imagination starts to cease.
Anna Scoby:That's the idea. We start with the brainstorming and we start with what is your favorite YouTuber does, what are some influencers that you follow? The TikTok videos? What do they sell? What is out there? And just thinking what are the needs, what are some things that are not working right now and you want to do better? We don't have to reinvent the bicycle. We can look into what already exists. Can we make it better? We can look into what already exists. Can we make it better? Does it out there?
Anna Scoby:I have one of my students. She took a regular pants and she wanted to make them prettier, so she had glue pretty flowers on top of them and then for holidays she drops a little bit of a scented oil on top and it smells for Christmas, it smells like Christmassy for spring and it smells like flowers and it's a little touch. But people buy them for gifts, for little offices, for different things. So you don't have to really think out there. There's so many Pinterest board ideas. It's all about brainstorming, it's all about thinking of where you're at. But for that you kind of have to give that creative space for your entrepreneur to look around and to think what do I have? Can I make things with what I have? Are there needs? Can I make things prettier? Can I make things useful? Can I see what other people are already selling and can I make something similar? Can I make a spin on what's already exists? But it takes time.
Rita Suzanne:Are you teaching them to sell locally or online, or both?
Anna Scoby:or online or both. Well, we do both. We have locally, where they are trading their time for money. We also started to expand into a digital world. My older entrepreneurs the one who started five and they've done markets. Now they are gradually transforming into the digital world. They are now creating a digital products. We are now on teachers pay teachers, where they have the digital products and they do worksheets and they do other things. So we do both, because I want to show them that they can also trade their talent for the money and the profits. So we have digital. Well, there's no book for the money and the profits. So we have digital. Well, there's no book for the digital product. Yet we now have the book for the trading time for money, but eventually we would go for trading talents for the profits.
Rita Suzanne:I love that because I mean, that's the foundational piece, right, and even in online business. So, for instance, you should always start off selling a service, right, Like, sell the big thing that's going to make the most money, and then you move on to the other things, right, and then the the other products that, or maybe you have to have the audience behind it and the experience of how to sell and and all of the things. So, as we kind of wrap things up, one thing that I always love to talk about is self-care, and so, anna, I want to know, as a mom, how many children do you have? Cause we didn't mention, you didn't mention that I have two, okay, and so, as a mom, we often neglect ourselves, and so I want to know what are you doing for yourself, what are you doing for just you?
Anna Scoby:Well, the biggest thing and I don't know, maybe this is a little bit out there the biggest thing I've done for myself is establishing boundaries with my children, and not just one way.
Anna Scoby:I respect boundaries of my children as well. So when my child says I need my space right now, I respect it and not taking it personally. So when my daughter says I need to be by myself, I say okay, and she walks away, closes the door and I don't run after her trying to figure out what's wrong with her or what does she need and how was her day and all that stuff. And she does the same thing for me. So when I feel that I had enough and she comes to me and says, but no, I can say, baby, can this wait? When I feel like I reached my point, my limit, I'm tired, whatever it is, I can safely say to her can this wait Because I need my time, so that boundary and healthy boundaries and safe boundaries can. When I can say I'm off, I'm walking away, I'm taking a nap, I'm doing my thing, and that's how I have my self care of having that healthy boundaries.
Rita Suzanne:I think that's important because a lot of times, women and moms don't enforce their own boundaries right, and so I think that that's a important piece of self care to really focus and highlight, because a lot of us are not doing it. We say we have boundaries but we're not enforcing the boundaries, and so I love that you brought that to the forefront as a piece of your self-care. And where can everyone find you online? Where can they get the book? Where is where?
Anna Scoby:is it at. The book is on Amazon. You have the link, so hopefully you can share it. Yes, uh, project BUcom is the website. It has some of my blog articles. It has the link to the book, it has some of the links and articles from our fairs, from the business fairs, and Project BU by Anna is the Instagram.
Rita Suzanne:Love it. Thank you so much, and I will again so one more time. What is the name of the book, in case they want to just jump on Amazon right now and grab the book.
Anna Scoby:The Young Entrepreneurs Handbook.
Rita Suzanne:The Young Entrepreneurs.
Anna Scoby:Handbook, the Young Entrepreneurs Handbook, and if they just put my name on the search Anna Scobie it comes up.
Rita Suzanne:Love it. Thank you so much, Anna. It's been so great chatting with you. Thank you for having me.
Anna Scoby:I've had so much fun.
