My first major business was a play cafe, and it was packed every single weekend all winter long. Parents loved it, kids loved it, and I thought we had figured it out.

Then spring came.

Almost overnight, the place emptied out. Families headed outside, to parks and backyards and everything the Utah sun finally made possible. And we were left standing in a beautiful, carefully built space wondering how we hadn’t seen it coming.

The truth is, we hadn’t planned for seasonality. We hadn’t mapped out what our revenue would look like across twelve months or built a cushion for the slow season. We also hadn’t fully calculated what it would cost to stay open the hours we needed to be open. The overhead, the staffing, and honestly, the physical toll of keeping that place clean and running every single day. That part alone eventually required bringing in outside help, which was the right call, but it was a cost we hadn’t budgeted for from the start.

I had an MBA. I wasn’t naive. But I was underprepared in ways that no classroom had warned me about.

The Illusion That Entrepreneurship Is Easy

Growing up, I was told I could be whatever I wanted. Do whatever I set my mind to. And I believed it, because the people who told me meant it with all the love in the world.

What nobody told me was how. Not really.

There’s a version of entrepreneurship that gets sold to all of us. You have a great idea, you work hard, people love it, and success follows. What that story leaves out is the seasonality conversation. The partnership agreements. The cash flow gaps. The moment you realize that passion and hustle, as powerful as they are, cannot substitute for the foundational skills nobody taught you.

Most businesses don’t fail because the owners weren’t smart or didn’t work hard enough. They fail because the owners didn’t know what they were getting into. Not from lack of trying but from lack of preparation.

That gap is what keeps me up at night. And it’s exactly why I started KidPitch.

What I Wish Someone Had Taught Me Earlier

Imagine if, as a kid, you had actually practiced running a business. Not pretended to but actually done it. Designed a brand. Created a product or service. Set a price, figured out your costs, and then stood in front of real customers and made your pitch.

Imagine if you had learned, in a safe and low-stakes environment, what it feels like when something doesn’t sell the way you hoped. Or when your costs are higher than you planned. Or when you have to decide whether to keep going or change direction.

Those aren’t just business lessons. They’re life lessons. And kids who practice them early don’t just become better entrepreneurs. They become more resilient, more confident, and more prepared for everything adulthood will throw at them.

What KidPitch Actually Is

At KidPitch, kids don’t just hear about business. They build one. Over three days, they use our workbooks and business kits to plan, create, brand, and launch their own mini business. Then they showcase it in a real mock marketplace in front of actual people.

They learn things like how to identify a problem worth solving, how to price a product and why that matters, what a brand really is and how to build one, and how to communicate their idea with confidence.

These are the skills I wish I had walked into adulthood with. The skills that would have saved me from learning some very expensive lessons the hard way.

For the Parents Reading This

If you’ve ever dreamed of starting something of your own, or watched your child light up with ideas and wondered how to channel that energy into something real, you already understand why this matters.

You don’t have to have all the answers. You don’t have to be a business expert to give your child a head start.

You just have to believe, like I do, that the earlier kids learn what entrepreneurship actually requires, the better equipped they’ll be to go after the life they want. Without the illusion, and without having to learn everything the hard way.

That’s what KidPitch is for. And just imagine the difference that could make.

Interested in registering your child for an upcoming KidPitch camp? Visit our camps page to see current dates and availability.