At our children’s franchise discovery days (www.NLP4Kids.org/join-the-team) I am often questioned about why I think it’s ok to make money from the kind of work that we do. Surely we should not be making money from the suffering of children? Surely we should be a charity?!

I have always responded by saying:

a) I think the world is in a financially bad spot at the moment. I think young people need to have positive entrepreneurial role models in their lives who show up in a sharp suit, not an Oxfam moth eaten cardigan. Don’t get me wrong, I own my fair share of Oxfam clothing, but I buy it through choice not necessity. I want the young people I work with to know that I grew up in the same council estate that they did and that I went on to become a sole trader and then register my own business.

b) Young people are motivated and inspired by money ESPECIALLY if they are from a deprived background. I think we should be capitalizing on that hunger for cash they have. I was recently in a school with a rather rowdy bunch of 10 year old’s. I’m there to teach them about respect and very quickly I realised, of course they have very little of the stuff! So they were talking over me, not listening and being generally hard work. I pulled out my iphone to set the timer on it so I could keep to my timings and then switched my work iphone off. One of them gasped and said “OMG you have TWO iphones!” The room went silent and I said “Actually I have 3 because I bought one for my work colleague too. And two ipads and three mac books.” In unison they all went “Wow…”

Then I asked how many people would like to own that kind of stuff when they grew up; everyone raised their hands. I went on to tell them a bit about my company and what we do and asked who would like to achieve something like that when they leave school? Again they all put up their hands.

Then I said “…And that is why you should listen to me – because I am going to tell you how to achieve it.” Suddenly I had their full attention!

We have to get young people into the mindset of being comfortable with paying for (and charging for) quality, not just waiting for a hand out. I do my fair share of donating my time for free, but I’m very cautious that in doing so, it goes into helping those who have no alternative but to rely on free support or, into advising young people who want to become entrepreneurial in the future. Because in my mind, they are the future.

Charity has an important part to play in society but I have always believed that the way many charities are structured and their constraints (mainly caused by the public’s restrictive thinking) strangle them from being able to make the full potential of difference they are capable of achieving. That’s why NLP4Kids is a company and not a not-for-profit organisation. For me, this video hit the nail on the head – so I’d like to share it with you.

NLP4Kids is a children’s franchise which offers accredited training to those who have a passion to make a positive difference to the lives of young people. We work with individuals suffering from wellbeing and mental health complaints such as stress, anxiety or depression related problems using NLP. The techniques we use have been customised to suit young people in workshops, schools and one to one therapy sessions. For more information visit www.NLP4Kids.org/join-the-team, email info@NLP4Kids.org or call us on 0203 6677294