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Three views on the reasons for joining the family business
One of the questions facing business owners is whether their children will want to follow them. So what makes people decide to join the family business? We look at three different views...
View 1: A sense of duty
Why did you join your family business?
I was studying for an MBA at an American university and loving it. One day my father called me on the telephone. He said that he needed me in the business and could I leave my studies and come home at once. I did as he asked. As soon as I had returned I joined the Board of Directors.
Did you resent the call to the family business?
I didn’t resent it. You see, the call came from a person, not an organisation. It was my father - my daddy - who was calling me because he was in need. I felt it wouldn’t be fair or right to leave him when he was asking for help. After all, he’s done lots for me over many years.
Do you sometimes wish you had not joined the family business?
We can’t always choose our path in life. When I was born I had no choice about my family. I could only respond to the situation as I found it and make the best of it. Still today, I am responding to the situation and doing what I believe is right for my parents, my family, and the employees who need our business for their income. I am content with how things are. But who knows, perhaps one day the situation will change and I might finally be able to finish that MBA in the USA.
If children are not asked to join then they may not suggest it 
View 2: A sense of fun
Why did you join your family business?
When I left university I worked in international finance but after a few years wanted something different. It happened that my father, an entrepreneur, was just starting another of his businesses. So I called him up and suggested, ‘Why don’t we do it together?’. It was an opportunity to get back to my home region and take on a fun challenge. I felt that I could add some financial experience that would make the business work and help guarantee financial security for my father’s and mother’s retirement.
What would make you leave your family business?
If the family business stopped being any fun then I’d consider walking away from it. I understand that any business can be hard work and of course our business is no exception. But when I’m really not enjoying it then thoughts of leaving do cross my mind. It hope it doesn’t happen but I would never rule it out.
Do you sometimes wish you’d made a different choice?
No. I believe in the business that we’re building together and I’m proud that it makes a difference to other people’s lives. The profit figures also show me that I’ve helped take the business up into a different league. I call these things the rewards of the entrepreneur and they give me a great sense of achievement.
View 3: A sense of belonging
Why did you join your family business?
For many years the last thing I wanted was to join the family business. I believed I should make my own way in the world and gain success without it being handed to me. I studied hard and got a job at a top company. But it was not quite as I had imagined. I had to work extremely long hours, had little social life, and my managers couldn’t even be bothered to learn how to say my name properly. I realised that I didn’t really matter to them; I was just another person on the payroll. About that time I began to take a small role in the family business and I was struck by the fact that there I was not just ‘another person’ but a member of the family. Why should I work day and night for a company that didn’t care who I was? Why not come home to the family business where people knew me and where there were many friends of the family? I finally left my job and came to work for my father.
Do you sometimes wish you had joined the family business earlier?
The danger of joining the family business too soon is that you always wonder if you have made a mistake. I think it was worth me working somewhere else, even if I didn’t enjoy it much, because now I am sure that the family business is the best place for me to be.
In this issue
Are you ready?
Score your readiness to pass the business to the next generation
Family Offices
Options for preserving wealth
First Steps to a Family Council
See the benefits of having a family council
Desire for Dynasty
The story of the House of Morgan
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