Daughter wants to set up a business with GCSE's round the corner! Need input

[Dadof3]

Hi All

I'm new here but very much look forward to getting to know you all, I was reading through the forum threads & saw some great advice so I believe I'm in the right place to ask some advice for myself too.

So for a bit of context, I'm a father of 3 beautiful girls, now i brought them all new iPhones last week which they love, but they needed cases, so my eldest found this website that sells these really funky cases so I got 3 for them (classic saying, iPhone, iPad, iPod, iPay ) Anyway they came, girls loved them. 

Then my middle girl (15 years old) who is extremely ambitious & driven which I love! Came up to me yesterday saying "Daddy, i want to start a phone case business just like the one we brought from" 

Initially I thought, fantastic, I'm so proud, go for it! But then after chatting with my wife we discussed that she has her GCSE's coming up which we feel she should be focussing on, so we're a bit concerned If she runs with this, her grades could be affected, but on the other hand this could be a great life lesson & potential career for her.

So I'm looking for some advice on this really; a) Would it be a good idea to let her run with this, b) Tell her no & to focus on studies and potentially try it when you're older which could kill her spirit.

I mean isn't the point of school to mould young minds to become creative, ambitious, driven & independant? 

Thank you in advice, looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

Yours

L

[MaryRO]

HI @Dadof3,

If the lines of communication are open sometimes some autonomy can create the space for children to figure things out on their own, making calculated decisions, while you are part of their process. Also, having weekly meeting could be a learning experience for your daughter how to deal with stakeholders/partners etc. If you and your wife are willing to do this together there are ways that you could use this opportunity to help your daughter understand the real world and the hard work, it will take to succeed in career as well as taking care of other necessary things as well. 

I hope this suggestion helps you and your wife form the best outcome for your family.