Is it loyalty or a cop-out to make one's career working for Mom and Dad?

Question

I don't think it's wrong if you go out and work other places for three or four years, travel and eventually get a place of your own. I come from an overprotective European immigrant background and think it is not the best way to raise kids, who should be thrown out at age nineteen.

Answer 1

It can be neither or one of the other. Happy New Year. 2D

Answer 2

It depends on the person, if they have completed their education, and they are interested in improving and expanding the family business of course working with the parents, I don't believe it would be a cop-out.

If this is someone who barely made it through school, or even dropped out, then you have a cop-out. They figure why do more, the business will be theirs once the parents retire or pass.

The bad part is if that does happen the business will probably fail within two years. You have to have enough education to handle a business. You really have no idea what is involved. To start you have to have the business license, have to know the laws for the city, county and state concerning what ever type business it is. If your selling products you have to restock, which means knowing what sells the best and how much to restock, and when to restock. You don't wait until there is three feet of snow on the ground to order shovels. You don't wait to buy summer products to sell in August. You don't order coats in December.
If it's a location that sells food or consumable products you have another set of laws. The ones of the health department.
There are laws about what tempature foods must be stored at, rules that tell you what tempature certain food must be cooked to. Rules about cleaning, and what you can use to clean. This only the tip of the iceburg.
The if you have other employees you have laws that you must follow to handle payroll, insurances, social security, federal income taxes, if your state has taxes like Ca, then you have those too. The you have the laws that say you have to verify the status of an immigrant before hiring them (no illeagals), there are laws concerning how many hours they work, overtime, and days off. If they handle food in the state of Texas you have to have a health certificate stating they have no disease they can spread.
I could go on and on, but you get the picture, no matter if the business has been in the black (making money) for twenty years, a storm comes along, or an earthquake damages the building, fire breaks out, you have to be ready. Mom and dad have been at it long enough to have all that type of things figured out and for them it's second nature. If you want to work for them you better learn more than running the register.
Owning a business is a 24/7 deal. When your there it's business, when your home it's thinking about the business or doing the paperwork you couldn't get to because you were extra busy because of the sale you had going. Oh Yeah there's laws about that too. I wish anyone who owns a business from the mom and pop businesses to the mega corps all the luck, it's much easier to work for them than it is to own one so if your the drop out you better drop right back in if you want to be ready to take over if for some reason your parents can't.

Answer 3

When I opened my business, I didn't have any children. I worked my tail off to get the business to where it is today. I am comfortable and have the time to spend with my family.

My children are growing up and some are in college. Some are taking business related courses to help out my company with the full knowledge that someday they will become the CEO.

If you and your family can get along, I think it is a wonderful way to work.

Answer 4

if no one else is hiring you and you need it to survive then no. if they're doing this to control you and not to help you then their motives are small and not honest and you can work with them until you find the right position for you, but don't burn your bridges with them. you also need to stay out of debt and learn to manage your money so you can stay independant.

Answer 5

It depends on the type of person, if a person is just a slacker and mom and dad have mega company with mega bucks, then I'll say it's a cop-out.

but, if mom and dad have toiled long a labourously to build a respectable company and their only wish is for their child to take over then I'll call that loyalty.

Answer 6

What's wrong with working in the family business? People build companies just so that they can pass something on to their children; working in that business shows appreciation and honors the work that those who came before you put into it. I think it would be a slap in the face to not work in the family business, unless you just couldn't stand being there.