5 Skills for Shaping your Girl’s Future (and How the Cookie Program Puts Them into Action!)
You may have heard that the Girl Scout Cookie Program teaches girls five essential skills, but did you know that it can set up them up for successful futures by developing an entrepreneurial mindset? It’s true!
Whether or not your Girl Scout is a budding businesswoman, the skills learned during the Girl Scout Cookie Program will last her a lifetime.
What’s an Entrepreneurial Mindset? (And Why is It Important?)
At Girl Scouts, we think of entrepreneurial mindset as a combination of many things—innovation, risk taking, social impact, and collaboration, to name a few!
Girls with an entrepreneurial mindset have a set of skills or qualities—like curiosity and confidence—that we know are linked to entrepreneurial success.
Girls with entrepreneurial mindsets are:
- Confident in their abilities
- Socially conscious problem-solvers
- Curious learners
- Innovative and flexible thinkers
- Challenge-seekers and risk-takers who learn from setbacks
- Collaborative teamsters
Who doesn’t want that for their girl!? Plus, we know our girls are looking for these skills!
Girl Scout Research Institute studies tell us that 78% of girls are interested in becoming an entrepreneur in the future, 76% are interested in starting their own company, and 84% want to lead a cause or campaign for something they believe in.
How Does the Girl Scout Cookie Program Encourage an Entrepreneurial Mindset?
Now that we know what and entrepreneurial mindset is and that girls are interested in learning these skills… how does the Girl Scout Cookie Program help girls do that? With the 5 Skills!
- Goal Setting: Your Girl Scout learns to set and track goals developing a plan to reach them!
- Decision Making: She can make informed decisions to help reach her goals and what she wants to do once those goals are reached!
- Money Management: She learns to handle money and gets comfortable learning how to set and follow budgets.
- People Skills: Your Girl Scout interacts with all kinds of people gaining confidence to influence others around her.
- Business Ethics: She learns the importance of good customer service and how she is responsible for handling HER Cookie Business.
When practicing these skills, girls become:
- Someone who can set goals and meet deadlines. Blowing a deadline can mean blowing a deal!
- Someone who works well with others. Who wants to deal with strife and complaining in the workplace? Not the boss!
- Someone who understands customers. It doesn’t matter whether the “customers” are hospital patients, TV viewers, or other companies—every business has to know its customers and what they want.
- Someone who can influence others. This doesn’t just mean selling a product. Employers want people who can sell ideas, pitch projects, and make deals.
- Someone who is honest, trustworthy, and reliable. This kind of goes without saying—or it should!
How Can I Help Her Build the 5 Skills This Cookie Season?
Looking for more ways to put the 5 Skills into action this cookie season? Try working through these questions with your Girl Scout! Don’t forget to remind her and encourage her throughout her cookie experience.
It’s not about selling the most cookies, it’s about gaining the most new skills!
Goal Setting Questions:
- What would you like to earn this cookie season?
- Younger girls may be choosing a reward item while older girls may want to earn enough money to take a troop trip! Help them think big!
- What would you like to learn?
- How will you know when you have reached your goal?
- How can you keep track of your progress?
Decision Making Questions:
- How would you like to participate in this cookie season? If she needs help offer suggestions like online through Digital Cookie, going Door to Door, or creating a commercial that she can share through safe social media avenues.
- What could make it hard to reach your goal, and how can you overcome that?
- What would you like to do with your troop proceeds or Digital Dough that you earn?
Money Management Questions:
- Younger girls
- Is it difficult to save money?
- Explain concepts like if you only have $5 you can only buy one box of cookies, which would she choose?
- Practice making change and getting girls familiar with money. Ask her questions like how many boxes of cookies can you buy for $20
- Older girls
- How much money do you need for *insert her goal*?
- How many packages would you need to sell in order to fund that experience? Consider developing a budget that takes into account travel expenses, and fun experiences!
People Skills Questions:
- What would you like to tell people about your cookie business?
- How can you reach more customers?
- If you were a cookie customer, how would you like someone to talk to you?
Business Ethics Questions:
- Describe a time when you were a customer, what made it a good or bad experience?
- What does this teach you about how you should treat your customers?
- How does the Girl Scout Promise and Law prepare you to treat customers well?
Originally posted by Girl Scouts of Western Ohio
