From the potty to the pension – long term advantages of being brought up in a family business

At a recent Entrepreneurial Conference one of the discussions over lunch was about what makes people start businesses, why they take the risks and work the crazy hours?

Having been brought up in a family business, where the concept of work-life balance was decades away (more work-work balance in my day) I offered the reason that as humans we do what we are used to – that during the “nurture” part of our lives we are naturally shaped by our environment and what’s going on around us.

As far as I was concerned, hearing about business – which was continually discussed at breakfast, lunch and dinner, during holidays and trips out – was perfectly normal. I remember starting at the tender age of about 12 years old helping my father with the weekly deliveries around the branches from the centralized warehouse. On the way to and at every branch I used to hear all the conversations about stock levels, re-order levels, weekly sales, staff problems, number of customers, and so on.

At the time it was all rather boring but it sowed the seeds that only became clear a few years later. This was not just for me, because although I used to get the weekly stock delivery being the “oldest” son, all of my brothers and sisters have gone into business in one way or another as a result of the seeds sown from the cradle upwards.

Osmosis process
Talking to other business owners there is a sort of information osmosis process, which psychologists would probably call subliminal, where business education is drip-fed to children over many years and it forms a huge part of their upbringing. As a result of this osmosis process, the children of business owners naturally take on a different view of the world from that of someone who is brought up where the parents have steady jobs. This perspective never leaves the individual because it is part of their inherent makeup; part of their personality and stays with them from the potty to the pension.

This home education in family business is interwoven with an understanding about one’s ability to survive come what may, because you have the basic business building blocks deep down; a sort of built-in entrepreneurial tool-box and business intuition all of your own. You know the language, you know the environment, you know the stresses, you know the words, you know the tone when things are going well and badly, you know the financial bottom line – more or fewer ice creams, cinema visits and holidays trips – you know the processes, you know the feeling of competing with the business for family time. All of this creates a different view of the world and you quickly realise that money certainly doesn’t grow on trees.

However, not everyone brought up in a family business absorbs the entrepreneurial traits; some are brought up in very comfortable environments that they almost go the other way entirely and, if not careful, can easily squander their inheritance. At the back of every family owner’s mind, lurks the knowledge of the three-generation rule – family businesses rarely continue beyond the grandchildren. For very successful family businesses the danger is continuity; how do business owners ensure that their children are still able to ensure that it succeeds in an invariably changing economic landscape and provide the comfortable existence that they have become accustomed to; basically are they hungry enough when they have never been hungry? This is even more crucial today, due to ever increasing change and competition there is a need to work harder, to keep the business moving forward.

MBA education
The fact remains that planned or not, natural business processes are sown in one’s children from an early age, whether they nurture their entrepreneurial tendencies or not. With the average MBA costing in the region of £50,000 your children are getting an invaluable foundation in business life as they grow, even though they probably don’t realise it. Some children may wish to go straight into the family business, but the reality is that with new types of businesses being invented all the time there is no reason that they will choose yours.

Either way you’ve given them an invaluable lesson in business, much of which simply cannot be taught in a class. It will be hard at times to balance business and family life, but your children will be way ahead of their peers and will have been given a huge step up in life; how they choose to use that advantage is entirely up to them. The secret is to make the learning fun, light and as much a game as possible. They will have the basic building blocks of entrepreneurship, which as we all know is the basis of every healthy economy around the world and a solid foundation for income generation all of their lives, whatever business they are in.

For more information please contact William Barron, who specialises in coaching and mentoring owners of SME’s on 07976 302052 or visit www.coachentrepreneur.co.uk .

Further reading: Richard Kyosaki has written an excellent book on the subject “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and is well worth reading and his “Cash Flow” game should be mandatory at GCSE.