This is what entrepreneurship and leadership look like at the Society of Child Entrepreneurs.

At SoCE, we don’t just teach kids how to sell trinkets, design logos, or balance budgets. Those skills matter, but they are not the point. The real work is teaching children how to notice problems, trust their voices, and take meaningful action.

Recently, that looked like a 10-year-old standing on a chair in front of City Council to advocate for a safer crosswalk.

Instead of accepting “that’s just how it is,” she did what entrepreneurs and leaders do best. She identified a problem and brought a solution to the people who could help fix it.

Melody walks from her school to the SoCE office every day after school. One afternoon, while waiting at the closest crosswalk, a car traveling toward the school stopped to let her cross. The problem was the line of cars leaving the school. None of them stopped. Melody waited on the sidewalk, doing the safe thing. Eventually, the stopped driver grew impatient and honked at her to “just go.”

She didn’t.

When Melody arrived at the office, she was frustrated and clear. She told me what happened and said she was going to City Council to ask for a new crosswalk closer to our building.

This is exactly what we teach at SoCE. Entrepreneurship is not just about money. It is about agency. It is about learning that your ideas matter, your experiences count, and your community is something you can shape, not just move through.

When children learn to advocate for themselves and others, they are learning leadership that lasts far beyond a pitch table or a business day. They are learning that they belong in rooms where decisions are made.

This is how confidence grows.
This is how communities change.
And this is why we believe children are not the future. They are leaders now.