entrepreneurs

She had 14 jobs by the time she was 22 and started her own business—wouldn’t you love to know HOW her parents raised her to be so hard-working and industrious?

Jodie Cook is passionate about entrepreneurship and helping kids develop entrepreneurial skills early. Her stories are SO encouraging, and I know you’ll love listening to this one and just feel good about your parenting afterward.

We discuss:

  • What Jodie’s parents did to encourage independence for their kids, and how Jodie feels about that now
  • How “useful people” go about their day, and why they’re the best people to hire
  • An entre-dad’s strategy for helping his son find his own inspiration and how many parents get their kids involved in business
  • Whether successful people care about what others say about them, and how Jodie’s parents raised her to be resilient in this way
  • The difference between entrepreneurial kids and kid entrepreneurs, and why the goal isn’t just to encourage kids to start a lemonade stand
  • Can an entrepreneurial mindset and skills be taught in traditional schools?
  • 6 keys to being a successful entrepreneur
  • How cooking lays entre-foundations as well
  • How to build the value of work (even if your kids don’t do chores)
  • Jodie’s awesome message of hope for parents based on the many entrepreneurs she knows

This interview will inspire and encourage you, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll have a shortlist of habits and routines to change in your home. I know I’m going to have my kids listen to Jodie’s answer to the last question!

Can’t see the video? Watch raising entrepreneurs here on YouTube!

No time for the video? Here are the notes!

Raising Entrepreneurs with Jodie Cook

  • 0:10: I’ve wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember, but now I’m an entrepreneur which I never expected! Today I’m talking with Jodie Cook about raising entrepreneurs. 
  • 1:49: Jodie shares her background with us and how she became an entrepreneur. Her passion began at 14 years old when she got a job to earn money for a car. By the time she graduated from university, she had saved up money to start her own business. Getting a “regular” job was her plan B. 

I packed my own suitcase and made my own dentist appointments at age 6. -Jodie Cook

A useful person finds a way. -Jodie Cook

  • 10:07: We talk about some ideas to help parents teach their kids to discover their own inspiration.
  • 12:40: There are ways to consume technology in helpful ways, but mindless background screens or unlimited access can pull kids away from some of these inspiration-seeking activities. 
  • 13:42: Successful people don’t care what other people think about them. Some people just have that as their personality, but there are also ways to develop that trait in your kids. 

If you're used to not judging others, you don't consider others' opinions as that important. -Jodie Cook 

  • 16:44: One of the ideas Jodie challenges is the traditional school model of “reading, weighting and ‘rithmatic” as being the best way to raise successful people. Are there ways to learn useful enterprising skills in a traditional school?

Kids don’t need plastic knives. They need real skills.

Teach safe technique, focus, and confidence in the all-time fav lesson from our kids cooking class! (ages 2-12)






Or find out more about the free knife class here.

  • 18:11: When researching for her book, Jodie interviewed about 25 entrepreneurs and they discovered 6 key elements many of them had in common that led to their entrepreneurial mindset. They are: inquisitive with a desire to learn, significant change or disruption in childhood, international knowledge or experience, independence, the experience of work, and role models. 

You don’t even have to leave your living room to understand that the world is a very big place. -Jodie Cook

Successful people don’t have to have started a business as a kid, they just need to act as though they could. -Jodie Cook

  • 23:30: Obviously at Kids Cook Real Food™ we’re all about learning the skill of cooking. Learning to cook fosters independence but the benefits don’t stop there!
  • 25:02: Teaching kids the value of hard work is critical to raising entrepreneurial kids. Jodie shares some examples of how to instill this value in kids. 
  • 28:42: We leave you with a message of hope. 

Resources We Mention for Raising Entrepreneurs

Jodie CookJodie Cook is a proud member of Forbes 30 under 30 social entrepreneurs in Europe 2017. Jodie’s work centers on the topic of entrepreneurship, inspiring others to take the leap or make a success of their venture. She has delivered keynotes to entrepreneurs, business leaders, and students about her experience as an entrepreneur, including at TEDx Aston University with her TEDx talk, Creating Useful People. Learn more at her website here.

Jodie is also a competitive powerlifter and has represented Great Britain internationally. She is the author of Clever Tykes, a series of storybooks and accompanying resources for children ages 6-9, inspiring positive, resourceful, and creative behavior by introducing entrepreneurial role models. Together with Daniel Priestley, she wrote How To Raise Entrepreneurial Kids, all about raising confident, resourceful, and resilient children who are ready to succeed in life – with stories from more than 150 parents, including yours truly!