Do you believe that just because someone was born into the family, they should be entitled to a job within the business?  and if so, how much does that family member get paid?

In a first or second generation business, this policy can be manageable, to hire all family members if they so wish.  However, as you get into third and fourth generation businesses, the number of family members grows significantly and maintaining this “hire any family member” policy can become financial burdensome on the business.  I have seen companies close because they were not sufficiently profitable and did not change this policy and continued to hire any family member that wanted a job.

Sometimes you have to consider different criteria for including and hiring your children in your business.  The question is, who amongst your children, if any, is most well suited to lead the business for the next generation and if the company is to hire the family member, are they qualified?

Some things to consider:

1. assess the capabilities of the family member and the needs of the business; is there a fit?

2. the current competitive environment for your business

3. the growth and new business prospect for your business

4. does your business need a leader or a caretaker?

Please see the interesting article below which considers the birth order of your children and who in the author’s view is most well suited to taking over the reins of the business from you.

Birth order in the family company – an article

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