I am currently working with my dad, and depending on which day it is I would suggest it. There are most definitely good times, and then there are the times when you would like scream at the top of your lungs and run into oncoming traffic, that might just be me though. Let's get a little perspective though, a lot of people have gone into a family business or has started a family business with a spouse or family member. These are two completely different playing fields.

My dad and I have the great fortune to spend our days together, but it does not stop there. The phone calls never stop, not even when you are in bed, the family dinners turn into business meetings, family get together become business get together. It never stops! However I do get to spend a lot of time with my dad, I have learned more about him then I ever knew. I look at him in a different light. It's hard to explain, he is still my dad, but he is also someone I never really knew. I know more about his day to day routine, I see him and how he handles stress, and I see him cut loose on a different level. This is something I would wish everyone would get to experience, seeing your parents in a different setting makes you have a different level of respect.

The difference between starting a business and joining a business is a level of stress that can not be described, unless you have been there to stress out over the light bill, the inventory, the business decisions that determine the direction of your company, the constant voice in the back of your mind asking you "what have you got yourself into?"
There are some good things that happen when you start a business with family. One of the most positive things to come from this is they understand. They understand what you're going through; they understand when you stay at the office for the extended hours. However they are also going through the same stress you are going through, this could make tempers flare. You will never be able to turn off work when with your family, but when you own your own business you never fully turn it off anyways, this is a way of life. Having someone there that is on that same level with you is a blessing.

Joining an existing family business is different in the ways of stress. You will come into the business with ideas on how to make it better, and your way of doing things will cross with the way your family has done things in the past. The stress of finding your own way within the family business is one that is hard and learning that it never stops is even harder. The main aspect you miss with joining a family business is the stress of starting the business. Other then that you still have the stress of working with people you see day in and day out.

Family owned business is what drives us in today's market. The government thrives on small business, and it is the American dream. Just make that decision, do you want your family in the front seat with you on that journey or do you want them to just be in the backseat, watching.

Learn more about this author, Brian Wink.
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