18-Year-Old Takes Over Family Business Brokerage

This profile is about a young man that took over the family business brokerage and business intermediary business after his father passed away.  Read more about his story here and here.

Name:

Family Description:

As a single 20-year-old young man, my immediate family consists of my mother and sister. My father died from cancer three years ago.

Business Name:

Business Description:

I have a business brokerage/business intermediary office which specializes in business sales, acquisitions and valuations. My core business is selling companies with values of $250,000 to $5,000,000 in a broad range of industries. A typical scenario is a 60-year-old business owner who engages me to sell his company. We determine market value and advise in preparing the business for sale. Then the company is confidentially presented to the marketplace of business buyers and we negotiate an acceptable transaction.

Location:

Western U.S.

Formal education/training:

I was home-educated through highschool and was involved with family business endeavors. This year I enrolled in a distance MBA program with Heriot-Watt University in order to undertake part-time formal business studies.

Prior work experience:

I have never been an employee of a non-family member. I was part of our family tree nursery, working in all aspects of growing and selling trees for landscaping. My father trained me in his business brokerage practice during my teen years, which was an invaluable experience.

Forming the Idea:

When my father passed away, I transitioned into managing the business and taking over all the current projects. The business was placed in my hand by God's providence.

How you got started:

I got started slowly with my father during my teen years as I started working in the office and attending meetings with my father. Then close to my 18th birthday my father passed away and it was complete immersion as I plunged completely into the business.

What was it like in the beginning:

It was overwhelming at the beginning as I was immersed in making decisions, serving clients and selling businesses. I made mistakes. God's grace and the business momentum carried me through.

What stage the business is at now:

Since I am now reaching a comfort level with the status quo, I am looking at ways to refine and grow the business over the next number of years. I am working toward selling larger businesses and being more selective in accepting clients. I have a growing list of clients who will give excellent references, which I consider to be priceless.

The biggest challenge you’ve faced:

The largest challenge is my lack of gray hair. Growing a beard helped me look older, but my age is my greatest challenge. My father always told me not to let my age restrict me, but it takes a lot of effort to overcome the culture's low expecations of a certain age category. It is helpful that most of my clients don't ask my age; they assume that I am several years older than I am.

Key steps that made the difference:

I found no secret formula,  I would stress the importance of daily diligence, seeking counsel as needed and learning from others. I would say that a Christian entrepreneur needs to come to grips with the reality of a sovereign God who "makes rich and makes poor". It is He who controls the results, but we must be counted as faithful stewards. (I am not suggesting that I am a shining example of these things, but I am learning how important these factors are.)

Lessons Learned:

I learned how little I know. I also learned the value of family involvement in business and what a powerful training experience that can be. I am learning how a professional service firm must ultimately take on a servant outlook as it fulfils the needs of it's clients.

The best advice you received:

I have been told that failure can be a blessing and that I shouldn't fear failure. My parents taught me to give my absolute best effort and then leave the results to God.

One piece of specific advice that has helped me in many circumstances was my father telling me that I need to use a firm hand to control business dealings. He knew that I have an easygoing personality and people would push me around because of my age. This instruction has helped me many times.

What your work and family life was like before:

I have only known the entrepreneurial lifestyle. I count this a blessing of my early years. My father could take time off and be flexible to work around a family schedule. Whether it was coming home for lunch, taking an international vacation, or just taking the afternoon off to work on a family project, he could be flexible. However, it takes rigorous discipline to balance work and family because many small business owners find themselves succumbing to the temptation of putting in more than 70 hour work weeks. The family-oriented entrepreneur must strictly rule his time in order for his family to realize the benefits of entreprenuerialism.

What your work and family life is like now:

It is a exciting and growing time I as get more established in business experience as I look toward marriage and establishing my own household.

I look back and see blessing in the hard and mysterious Providence of God, and I thank Him for parents who took care in train my sister and me.

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