Family Business Is Real Business
My first job was given to me by one of the greatest man I’ve met in my life, my father. He employed me in our family business back when I was still studying in college. His approach was like this. He offered to give me more allowance for school if I helped him out. Naturally, I had agreed and I think it was one of the pivotal moments of both our lives. My dad taught me a lot of things and I had learned a lot from him. He even made it easier for me by giving me a job that didn’t require much work. He assigned me as a disbursement officer, so it was a pretty easy thing to do. I only did the employees’ payroll, counted their salaries, and then on weekends, I handed them their paychecks. I was focused on my work and I didn’t even bother asking about taxes and the like.
After years of working for my dad, I realized now why he had hired me. It wasn’t for the extra money he wanted to give me because he could have supported me financially without me doing anything for him. I know now that he wanted me to learn. He wanted to teach me the ways of the family business. He wanted me to be part of it.
A lot of family members get hired to work for a family business for reasons such as trust and confidence that can easily be obtained from those of your own flesh and blood, the responsibilities and commitments that a family members gets to fully understand in due time, the taxes that can be lowered and savings from health insurances, and even social security issues and the like.
When I had a chance to apply for a private company, I can vividly recall the HR Manager emphasizing on the retention of employees. It made think why the manager had to expound on it. I mean, how hard can it be to find good employees that will stay with the company for a long time? Then I thought of my father and I figured that not a lot of people actually have a chance to work for a family business.
The thing with having to learn from your parents is that you are taught in a whole new different way. You don’t learn for bonuses and incentives but you do it out of love and respect. What happens is that you tend to disregard everything else if you are doing something for the family business. From experience, I can say that even if I were asked to do something very late or too early in the morning, it wouldn’t be a problem because I am doing it for the family. Try doing it for your boss from a private company. It’s not going to be the same.
When faced with money problems, people who work for their family businesses seem to be more understanding and even generous enough to offer free services and the like just to help out. You don’t see a lot of that happening with private companies. The relationship between co-workers and family members working together are two different stories. All I’m trying to say is that when you are working for the family business, you have the “heart” for it, and that is mainly because you are not just a working individual but you are part of the family.
Another similar thing is how parents impart wisdom and educate their children about the business compared to how managers just tell their subordinates what to do and what not to do. Obviously parents want to teach kids a thing or two about the business in the hopes that one day they will be able to run it effectively. If an employee of a private firm messes up, they will just find a replacement for that person, but you simply can’t find a replacement for your own children.
For family businesses, any conflict can be easily resolved especially when communication between family members are open and developed well. Even work ethics of employees under a family business is nurtured. The way I see it, I think that this what contributes most to my preference of working for the family business over climbing the corporate ladder.
Looking for parenting help? We highly recommend The Total Transformation Program for parents dealing with ODD. Check on the link for more information.
