A business owner should understand and accept that his or her children may want to pursue different careers rather than following in their footsteps.
Sometimes it is the own business owner who sees that his or her kids are not prepared to assume the responsibility and encourages them to look for a job that suits their abilities instead of forcing them to deal with the burden of managing a company.
In other times, the kids realize a little too late that the burden is too big to deal with.
We received a request for help from a young adult who had inherited his father’s company. He knew absolutely nothing about the business and everything was foreign to him. The employees of the company still saw him as a child that was not prepared to undertake the management of the company. In addition, he was pouring too much money into the business to maintain it afloat. His inexperience made owning and running the business too overwhelming and selling the company became the only option.
We advised him through the process of selling the company to an industrial group, allowing him to save his inheritance and free himself from a difficult situation.
As an owner and a parent, you must understand and accept that your children want to pursue different paths from yours. If you, as a parent, see that none of your kids have the capability or the willingness to be a business owner, which would mean working tirelessly to face a competitive environment that becomes more aggressive as time goes on, don’t force them to inherit your business, don’t put that burden on them, let them be free so that they can pursue their own dreams.
This article was written by Enrique Quemada, Chairman of ONEtoONE Corporate Finance Group.
