Ep 202: Money Mindset For Self-Starting Teens

Erik Huberman, author of The Hawke Method,  joins us to talk
about how we can empower teens to be self starters. Plus, how
teens can pick a career path and think critically about what they
spend their money on.


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Full show notes


We hope to prepare our kids for all of life’s challenges: staying
healthy, maintaining relationships, and of course, managing
money! The last thing we want is for our adult children to run
home to us, bankrupt and ready to live in our basement. We hope
that they’ll make wise financial decisions, fund their own lives
and maybe even have enough to start families of their own
someday!





But money management isn’t something that's typically taught in
schools…and there’s no script for how parents should teach it
either! Parents have bickered for ages about the best way to set
kids up for financial success. Should kids be getting allowances,
credit cards and bank accounts? Is it wise for them to get a job
while they’re still in school, or should they simply focus on
their education?





To give us some perspective from the other side, we’re talking to
Erik Huberman, successful entrepreneur and author of The Hawke
Method: The Three Principles of Marketing that Made Over 3,000
Brands Soar. Erik is the CEO and founder of Hawke Media, a
marketing agency that has worked with over 3,000 different
brands! He’s here to share some brilliant ideas about how we can
teach young folks the ins and outs of financial responsibility.





In our interview, we’re debating whether or not teens should
follow their passion or pick a more responsible path. We’re also
discussing how we can prepare kids for the brutal financial
realities of life, and why we need to encourage teens’ to think
critically about social media marketing.



Helping Teens Find Their Calling





So your teen wants to be an artist…or an actor, or a professional
soccer player, or a movie director. And you’re wondering…should I
encourage them to chase their wildest dreams or pick a safer
avenue? In Erik’s eyes, the solution is somewhere in the middle.
Humans spend the majority of their waking hours working, he says,
so trying to force our kids to spend all of that time doing
something they hate isn’t exactly sustainable.





In his eyes, we should stop using the word “passion”, as it's too
nondescript. Instead, we should encourage teens to pursue
something that brings them energy, something they’re good at and
willing to work hard at! Instead of a passion, he refers to this
as a “calling”. Lots of kids love the idea of being a rock star,
but rarely actually feel motivated to sit down to play the
guitar. Even though music might be their dream, they’ll find
themselves becoming mediocre players. And if this is all they’ve
got careerwise, Erik warns they might find themselves stuck in a
bad spot.





Erik explains that he loves to ski, but he doesn’t think he
should become a professional skier. Only a select few skiers are
good enough to truly make a living skiing, and there are other
things he can do–things that make him excited and enthused to go
to work in the morning. He suggests that kids go for the safer,
more reliable route, so that they’ll have something to fall back
on and not get stuck. This doesn’t mean they should do something
they hate, however. They can still find something they’re good at
and bring in some income, he assures.





No matter what they choose to do with their lives, teens are
going to be up against a lot of challenges in the adult world.
Erik and I are discussing how we can start preparing kids now so
they’ll stay afloat when grown-up obstacles come their way.



Raising Self Starters


To equip kids with tough skin they’ll need to handle adulthood,
we’ve got to empower them in a healthy way, says Erik. Giving
kids the confidence to take on the world doesn’t come from
flattering them at every corner and giving them empty
compliments, he explains. Instead, we’ve got to help teens
realize that they have the ability to tackle their problems –if
they work hard and find creative solutions, that is.





Erik believes that one of the biggest issues with today’s society
is that we don’t encourage kids to solve their own challenges.
Too often, we fix their issues for them before they have the
chance to figure out their own solutions, says Erik. He suggests
that we prompt kids to pay for their own movie tickets, or
encourage them to bring their concerns up to teachers without our
help. It might seem small, but solving these lighter problems
will prepare teens to take on bigger problems in the
future. 





In the episode, Erik dives deep into his own childhood growing up
with an entrepreneur for a father–and how this shaped him into
the smart businessman he is today. When, at the age of eight, he
asked his father for a guitar, his father told him to go get a
job and pay for it himself! So Erik took the few bucks he made in
weekly allowance and turned it into a business reselling beanie
babies and made more than four thousand dollars! This
encouragement from his dad pushed him to build something for
himself–and we can do the same with our kids.





Good money management is about more than just making money–it’s
about spending money too! We’re also discussing how you can help
your teen become a more educated consumer.





Creating Smart Consumers


When kids see their favorite internet influencers promoting
sneakers or skincare, they suddenly have to have this sparkly new
object. They beg you for a bump in allowance so that they can
purchase these shiny, trendy (likely overpriced) goods! Kids are
remarkably impressionable, and advertisers know that if they
market to kids, they’ll likely see some engagement, says Erik.
Plus, now that every teen has an iphone loaded with Tik Tok and
Instagram sitting in their pockets, it’s easier than ever to
reach them.





Erik recommends that we try to have conversations with our kids
about consumerism while they’re still under our roofs. Prompting
teens to think critically about the advertisements gracing their
screens can help them see behind the marketing smoke and mirrors.
Marketers are trying to hit the reptilian part of teens
brains–the part that craves the satisfying dopamine hit that
comes with hitting “complete purchase.” Helping teens see that
they’re being manipulated can help them make smarter choices as
consumers.





It’s not bad for teens to spend a little money on something that
brings them joy, but it’s important that they think critically
about what they’re buying too. Erik suggests that you encourage
your teen to think about the functionality of each purchase
before they make it. Sure, their favorite make-up influencer says
they need to buy a new eyeshadow palette…but they already have
six at home they barely use! With parental input, kids might
realize that their extra cash might look a lot better in a
savings account.



In the Episode….





Erik has so much advice about finding financial success, drawn
from his own entrepreneurial experiences! On top of the topics
discussed above, we also talk about:


How Erik built his own company from the ground up

Why young adults should experience being “broke”