Hey there, 

Welcome to our first Mini Millionaires edition of the New Year. We hope 2026 is going to be a fantastic one for you and your family.

With one week left before school starts, kids are in that sweet spot of freedom and curiosity (and maybe working on Mom and Dad’s nerves?).

But did you know it’s the perfect opportunity to talk to your mini millionaire about what a business actually is? Kids see businesses everywhere, but they don’t always understand how they work or why they exist. 

So this last stretch of holiday time gives them room to dream, experiment and maybe even start something small that builds creativity, confidence and real-world money skills.

Teaching kids what a business is helps them understand how value is created, exchanged and rewarded. 

At its core, a business solves a problem for someone and gets paid for it. 

Your mini millionaire will quickly grasp this when they think about what people need, what they enjoy and what they’d happily pay for. And by breaking it down into simple parts like customers, products, costs and earnings, starting a business suddenly feels achievable. 

Starting small builds entrepreneurial thinking, responsibility and decision-making. Whether they run a mini venture or just test an idea, they’ll start seeing opportunities at every turn.

If you want to dive a little deeper, we unpack a mindset to cultivate, a habit to form, and a tip to try a little more in our How to Teach Kids to Start a Business money guide.

Our Mini Business Model Canvas makes understanding business super simple and is a condensed version of the one originally built by Swiss Entrepreneur Alexander Osterwalder in 2005.

It breaks a business into seven easy-to-understand parts: Passion, Suppliers, Resources, Value Proposition, Customers, and how money works through Costs and Revenue. 

Kids map out what they want to create, who it’s for, what they need, and how they might earn from it, turning fuzzy ideas into real, structured plans. 

It helps them think clearly about their product, who will buy it, and what makes it special. It’s the perfect way for your mini millionaire to spend the last few days of holiday doing something meaningful.

If your kids are curious about how businesses, markets and money really work, our popular board game FinMaster is the perfect game to bring to the table this week. 

Players compete to build the biggest fortune by buying assets, navigating market booms and crashes and using clever power cards to block, outplay or protect themselves.

Kids learn strategy, risk, reward and financial concepts without even noticing they’re learning (sneaky sneaky - hahaha). 

It’s fast-paced, competitive and brilliant for family time before school kicks off again.

What’s been your mini millionaire’s favourite lesson they’ve learnt from our newsletter so far?

Or is there something you’re navigating on their money smart journey right now you’d like us to talk about in an upcoming feature?

Hit reply and tell us. We’d love to know.

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