Growing up in a business family provides you with profuse work intuition that neither any book nor any formal education can provide. It’s a wholesome work experience. You don’t just learn about every nitty-gritty of business but also understand what implications it has on your personal life and how to manage it. Apart from giving you the opportunity to acquire many skills, growing up in a business family will teach you some important lessons which always stay with you and will guide you through tough times. It also helps you in your career to make wise decisions.
Also Read: Entrepreneurs & Businessmen- Are They Quite Different?
Perseverance
Growing up in a business family means you are accustomed to both highs and lows. You learn to handle both failure as well as success with grace. A business family understands the need to expose their children to disappointments, all forms of fiascos and losses in life. My father always encouraged me to handle the loss and move forward instead of sulking over it or feeling anxious about it.
Meeting challenges is a daily requirement in business. Even when you’ve established your business pretty well, you face obstacles every day. It’s not a piece of cake. What I observed was my father kept overcoming obstacles, strategized how to grow sales and make more money and he kept doing this religiously. This taught me discipline as well as determination.
Sacrifice
Every day of my life I’ve observed my father invest his entire energy, put in endless work hours to ensure financial security and stability as well making our business a successful one. Financial security – for whom? Well, for his family. We’ve had our share of crisis both in life as well as business. But never once do I remember, he let our family or his children, get affected by them. Sacrifice and parenting go hand-in-hand. Just to fulfil our needs, our parents changed themselves, their lifestyles. Sacrifice is something only a parent can truly teach you. When I’m studying late nights, meeting deadlines I think about what my parents have sacrificed for me and then by some miracle I just feel lucky and deadlines don’t seem that burdensome any more.
Confidence
Self confidence comes from a sense of competence. A confident person needs a positive perception of his/her abilities, and a certain level of self esteem. If you’re confident enough you can influence the way your interactions take place. Well, again growing up in a business family, I’ve seen some lows and it would be at moment like these, when I would see that my parents treat these challenges with resilience and strength. I’ve seen my father tackle failures and obstacles with a strong belief in himself that he will succeed. This taught me that experiences, risks, obstacles and set-backs are the tools that ingrain confidence in you.
Resolving Conflicts
The one thing that’s great about a small family business is that you can’t fire anyone.;) This may be the reason why family businesses survive as long as they do. Growing up in a business family you observe your parents and family, master the technique of conflict resolution. You may not always agree, you might even want to fire that person but you simply can’t. You have no choice but to figure a way out to deal with that person. This is a lesson which every entrepreneur or rather every person should learn. In your venture you can’t just keep firing people for small indifferences; you will have to learn to resolve your differences and find a way to survive together.
Work Life Balance
Despite working endless exhaustive hours, my parents never missed any program or event whether small or big which was significant to me. Over the years, my father has repeatedly proved this to me that even though work is a priority, you can’t neglect your family. Maintaining a balance between business and family is Herculean task. Yet, somehow he does it so well. He has taught me that indeed work will be more demanding and in due course I will have to entertain my work demands more but on the same time he’s taught me flexibility. Lessons on Work-Life fusion is a gift to every kid being raised in a small business family.
Looking at the bigger picture
When you are involved in a business you can’t implement any or every idea to improve your business, you need to think about the bigger picture and ponder upon all the consequences that your action might have. This has helped me throughout my life. It has stopped me from taking actions impulsively. When you enter into any enterprise or start with one of your own you need to think about the impacts that your enterprise will have on people around you. If you truly comprehend the bigger picture and you are constantly seeking the path to improve this picture you are sure to go a long way.
Bring results and work hard
Well, when your parents are working so hard they do expect some results from their children too. It is my father who raises the bars when it comes to my achievements. One thing you clearly learn is that there is no alternative to working hard and smart to achieve any goal in life. Result is the ultimate aim of every task. And you are your only competitor. Thus if you keep defeating yourself by dodging in more hours of hard work you are sure to receive the desired results.
Taking risks
Business doesn’t expand unless you take risks. Taking risk is an essential part of growing. What I learnt was risks can be both good and bad. When you grasp the healthy aspects of taking risks, you will start developing methods to take smart risks to improve your business. Growing up in a business family, you automatically inculcate a “love” for calculated risks. Beneficial risks require planning and they are a product of assessing needs, formulating strategic plans and identifying areas of improvement. The practice of taking risks ultimately boosts your confidence and helps you in attaining success.
Do let us know if you too grew up in a business family. We’d happy to know what all it taught you!
