Experts share their wealth of experience

Business is a high-intensity, high-stakes venture. Knowing just how fraught it can be, would you bring your children on board with you?

My kids have seen me evolve from music to business to beyond.

I find that my kids are actually my best advisors. As you get older, you develop filters and excuses, but kids are raw in how they think and see the world. I’ll show them a new design or slogan and they’ll give the best feedback. Where an adult will say, “Oh, I think I get what you’re trying to do,” a kid will straight up say, “That doesn’t make sense.” Then you look at it again and realize that they’re 100 percent right. I believe they see an entrepreneurial spirit, and I hope it will have a lasting effect on them.

As for bringing them into the business, ultimately, I want them to do their own thing. If that means working with me, then great, but right now my focus is just on keeping them stimulated and curious.

—Moshe Hecht, CIO of Charidy

There’s no question that I would — if the child had a knack for the work and an appreciation for what I was doing. I wouldn’t make a blanket statement that every child belongs in the family business. You have a responsibility to make sure the business survives. It can take a father 40 years to build up a business and the child 40 days to destroy it.

—Menachem Lubinsky, CEO of Lubicom Consulting

It’s a loaded question with a lot of nuance. On one hand, working together can be good. I think that when a family is forced to learn boundaries by working together, they become better people. Working together in a family company brings the relationship to the ultimate test of endurance. As opinions, personality differences, strengths and weaknesses come to the front, you’re forced to figure out how to make it work. You are pushed to work on aspects of the relationship that you may not have encountered for another 20 years. You make a lot of progress very quickly, in a way that you would never be able to do if you’re not working together. There are definitely upsides to working with the family. As long as the challenge doesn’t destroy you first, it will definitely make your family stronger.

On the other hand, I wouldn’t bring my kids into the business because it’s a free ride. I work with people who are in their father’s or mother’s business and I see their lack of confidence, or that chip on their shoulder. Sometimes they end up in a job that’s not for them, but they’re doing it regardless, because it’s the family business. Sometimes they are really capable, but they aren’t living up to their capabilities because they never needed to test them. They got the job without trying, and they’ll continue to have it even if they don’t grow.

My children are the dearest people to me. I would love to hand them a cushy job and say, “Here’s a dream job that’s yours for the taking.” In reality, it won’t help build my child into a strong, independent individual. I want my kids to dig deep into themselves and find what it is that they want. Then, I want them to work hard and strive for a goal. If I give them a free ride, I would be depriving them of the deep sense of accomplishment. I would make it very clear to my children from a young age — maybe at 15 or 16 when people start thinking about what they want to do — that they’re not coming into my company. I don’t want them to grow up thinking, “I’m going to Cavalry because it’s my mother’s business, and also my older sister did it so I should probably go too.” They can be in the same industry as me — they can even be my competition — but they are going to find the business that is best for them, regardless of what their mother does.

—Chany Rosen, CEO of Cavalry Associates

Business Partners 101: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

with Meny Hoffman, CEO of Ptex Group and host of the Let’s Talk Business podcast

Choosing Right

Since day one of Ptex, twenty years ago, I’ve had a partner. Everyone needs to know their shortcomings and where they shine. If you feel like there are things you’re not good at — and that hiring an employee to fill the needs is not enough — a partnership may be your best option.

The horror stories...  

Understand that you and your partner aren’t two friends who decided to go into business together because you have a shared vision. From the get-go, you need to be clear on what each of you brings to the table. Two very outgoing, social partners will probably shine in the same areas, which means that other parts of the business will be entirely neglected. When you have different strengths, you complement each other. Most of the time, when you see partnerships fall apart, it’s because both partners walked in with the same skill sets. There’s limited room and a greater risk of stepping on each other’s toes when you’re both tackling the same aspects.

...And how to avoid them

Walk in with a clear idea of what is in whose territories and your process for making decisions together. Understand that every human on this planet was made differently and respect your partner precisely because they don’t think the same way you do. Even if you do have to break the partnership, chas v’shalom, having mutual respect will be the difference between ending things civilly or it becoming a horror story. Make sure to always respect each other and then, no matter what happens, you’ll be okay.

Secret of My Success 

As Jews, we don’t go into business to have lots of money in our bank accounts and to sit on the beach smoking cigars. Our responsibility down here is to constantly think how we can change the world and how we can be mekadesh Hashem’s name. I don’t think anything about how I run my business is particularly special — if anything, my “success” comes because I view business as a vehicle to get involved in other projects that really matter.

—Shloimy Greenwald, CEO of SGM and of MYS Buying Group.
Together with Beryl Junik and Zalmy Cohen, he organized the Hatzalathon and United for Protection Sifrei Torah.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 841)