{"id":1073338,"date":"2026-07-07T04:09:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1073338\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T04:09:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T04:09:15","slug":"kidpreneurship-is-booming-will-gen-alpha-be-a-generation-of-business-owners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1073338\/","title":{"rendered":"Kidpreneurship is booming. Will Gen Alpha be a generation of business owners?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Thanks to an after-school entrepreneurship program, 17-year-old Thomas Chau went from not knowing what to do after graduation to accepting an offer for business school this fall.Jennifer Gauthier<\/p>\n

Entrepreneurship wasn\u2019t on Thomas Chau\u2019s radar until he started selling candles. <\/p>\n

The 17-year-old from Vancouver had entered Grade 12 without clear post-secondary plans and was looking for inspiration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very, very lost,\u201d Thomas says. \u201cI was interested in different things, like law and economics and even trades. But I didn\u2019t really know where to go with those interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

A teacher suggested Thomas get involved in the Company Program at Junior Achievement (JA) British Columbia<\/a> \u2013 a free, after-school entrepreneurship program where students spend 16 weeks creating, launching and operating their own ventures. <\/p>\n

He and 16 other students formed a company called Serenity Candles, using sand, seashells and a coconut soy wax blend to create what Thomas calls an \u201cocean in a candle.\u201d After \u201ca lot of hard work and long nights,\u201d the team earned more than $2,000 in gross revenue selling at local craft markets and ended up winning the CIBC Student Company of the Year award, which came with a $3,000 prize.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe learned how to think as entrepreneurs and how to take risks and put ourselves out there \u2013 not just business skills, but important life skills,\u201d says Thomas, who won a JABC Junior Entrepreneur Award for his work as vice-president of sales for the company. \u201cI went in very, very shy. But I learned how to speak in public to people as I sold my products.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas says the experience is largely the reason he decided to attend the UBC Sauder School of Business, where he will be starting this fall. \u201cAs an entrepreneur, you get to see all of your hard work pay off and that\u2019s a big reason why I love it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Sisters Sariah Morgan, 16, and Ariella Morgan, 9, are co-founders of Young Bosses in Business, which hosts pop-up markets for youth-owned businesses around the Greater Toronto Area.Wayne McDonald Photography<\/p>\n

An \u2018uptick in interest\u2019 in entrepreneurship among young Canadians<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a good time to be a young person interested in running a business. In recent years, youth entrepreneurship programs, summer camps and mini markets have popped up across Canada. <\/p>\n

Young Bosses in Business<\/a>, a registered charity founded by sisters Sariah Morgan, 16, and Ariella Morgan, 9, with the help of their mom Shantell Elson, hosts pop-up markets<\/a> for youth-owned businesses around the Greater Toronto Area. The events, which include fashion and talent shows, are run and staffed by kids, says Ms. Elson. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen children come through [to volunteer], we don\u2019t turn anyone away. We find something for each young person to do,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

The popularity of the markets, which have supported more than 150 youth businesses since 2022, prompted the family to launch Young Bosses in the Making: free programs where kids six to 18 learn entrepreneurial skills and work toward launching a real business. <\/p>\n

\u201cI hope [the programs] help them feel brave so that when they\u2019re in the mini market, they\u2019re not scared to talk in front of people and they know they can do this,\u201d says Ariella.<\/p>\n

Craig Lovell, program manager at JA British Columbia, says that while the organization has been operating in B.C. for 70 years, he\u2019s seen an \u2018uptick in interest\u2019 in JA lately. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we are increasingly seeing kids where the fire has been ignited and they\u2019re realizing that maybe I can do something [with my career] that is separate from just getting a job,\u201d Mr. Lovell says.<\/p>\n

Brad Poulos, an entrepreneurship lecturer at Toronto Metropolitan University, isn\u2019t surprised there is increasing interest in entrepreneurship among Gen Alpha (born roughly between 2010-2025). They may be young, but they\u2019re likely aware of the tough job market and economic uncertainty faced by the adults in their lives, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny notion of corporate loyalty went out the door at least a generation ago, and with the advent of AI, I think more and more people are going to have to find themselves generating their own income as opposed to working a traditional job,\u201d Mr. Poulos says. <\/p>\n

Entrepreneurship gives young people a sense of control over their destiny, he adds. <\/p>\n

\u201cLife isn\u2019t happening to [these entrepreneurs]. They\u2019re making it happen.\u201d <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Young Bosses has expanded to include free programs where kids six to 18 learn entrepreneurial skills and work toward launching real businesses.Wayne McDonald Photography<\/p>\n

Developing life skills by running a business<\/p>\n

For 16-year-old Cody Russwurm, entrepreneurship has provided a pathway to working that suits his skills and abilities. Cody, who is on the autism spectrum and has cerebral palsy, is the face of Cody\u2019s Egg Shack<\/a>, a Walkerton, Ont., shop where customers can buy farm-fresh and pickled eggs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to see what Cody was going to be capable of [on the family farm],\u201d says Cody\u2019s mother Shannon Russwurm. \u201cWe got some chickens to see if we could get him interested in gathering eggs. He quite enjoyed it, so we expanded the flock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Russwurm says they didn\u2019t know what to do with all the eggs, so they started selling them via a self-serve fridge on the road outside their farm. She shared Cody\u2019s story on social media and it took off. Cody\u2019s Egg Shack now has 90,000 followers on Facebook and a brick-and-mortar store. <\/p>\n

In addition to gathering eggs, Cody sometimes helps with the pickling. \u201cBut he really loves the storefront,\u201d Ms. Russwurm says. \u201cHe likes talking to people and running the till and the debit machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love being an entrepreneur,\u201d Cody says in an email. \u201cI\u2019ve learned how to interact with people better and that helping run a business is hard work.\u201d <\/p>\n

Interacting with customers has been good for Cody\u2019s development, Ms. Russwurm adds. \u201cWe\u2019re growing life skills on a daily basis and he doesn\u2019t realize that he\u2019s doing it.\u201d <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

By running the egg shack on his family farm, 16-year-old Cody Russwurm is developing practical life skills without even realizing it.Amanda Sills Photography<\/p>\n

Geena Jackson says that developing social, professional and life skills is a huge part of the Bears\u2019 Lair Dream Camps<\/a> she runs in Indigenous communities across the country \u2013 a spinoff the Bears\u2019 Lair TV show that Jackson executive produces where Indigenous business owners pitch their businesses to judges. <\/p>\n

In the weekend-long \u201cmini bootcamps\u201d, young people aged 11 to 18 learn about entrepreneurship, public speaking, financial literacy and working together as a team, Ms. Jackson says. <\/p>\n

Participants are invited to think about what might be missing from their community, whether that\u2019s a market for fresh fruit and vegetables, a sports store or private tutoring. Coaches help the kids develop the pitch for their business idea, which they present in front of judges.<\/p>\n

Ms. Jackson notes that half of the Indigenous population of Canada is under the age of 25 and Indigenous businesses are created at nine times the Canadian average.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that the future is the youth,\u201d she says. \u201cWe know that we need to give them opportunities where they can flourish. We want to show them what is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some program participants have turned their ideas into real businesses outside the camp, says Ms. Jackson, including a popcorn business that travels to Indigenous events and a grocery delivery service for elders. But even those who don\u2019t start ventures take powerful learnings from the sessions, she says. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey are able to look in people\u2019s eyes and shake their hands and articulate their ideas confidently,\u201d she says. \u201cThey know that when they throw ideas out there, that people are going to listen and take them seriously.\u201d <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Cody, who is on the autism spectrum and has cerebral palsy, says he loves being an entrepreneur.Amanda Sills Photography<\/p>\n

\u2018Power skills\u2019 for the future<\/p>\n

Elspeth Murray, the director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Social Impact at the Smith School of Business at Queen\u2019s University in Kingston, Ont., says all this youthful interest in entrepreneurship is \u201cgood news and bad news\u201d from a Canadian productivity standpoint. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf we end up being a nation of micro or small businesses, we\u2019ll take a hit productivity wise. However, if a small percentage of these scale up and grow into something large \u2013 everybody refers to the Shopify story \u2013 then over the longer or medium term, our productivity will improve.\u201d<\/p>\n

She adds that regardless of whether their venture succeeds or fails, entrepreneurship can help young people develop the \u201cpower skills\u201d they need to succeed, such as collaboration, leadership and calculated risk-taking. Programs that encourage that exploration can only be a good thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s so great about some of these programs is it\u2019s not, \u2018Sit in the classroom and let me tell you how it works,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cYou\u2019re going to go and see how it works yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Thanks to an after-school entrepreneurship program, 17-year-old Thomas Chau went from not knowing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1073339,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3094],"tags":[23270,9884,51,294226,2847,3134,7357,147740,294224,24789,294223,16,15,294225,55173,226310],"class_list":["post-1073338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entrepreneurship","tag-adveditorial","tag-appwebview","tag-business","tag-canadas-productivity-crisis","tag-entrepreneur","tag-entrepreneurship","tag-gen-alpha","tag-generation-alpha","tag-kidpreneur","tag-noastack","tag-ordid4060659255edit","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-young-business-owners","tag-young-entrepreneurs","tag-youth-entrepreneurs"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116876736417320021","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1073338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1073338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1073338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1073339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1073338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1073338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1073338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}