It's a Family Business

For many years, I've been asked these questions many times. 

"What makes you want to start a business?" 

"Why do you go into entrepreneurship rather than employment?" 

"Who influence you to do business?" 

I've always give the similar answer, "It's my family." 

For those who know my family, they would know that my parents were not educated. My dad ran away from school because he was abused by the teacher and my mom had to drop out of school to help my grandmother make a living. My sister also dropped out of school and my brother never finishes college. Basically my brother is the only one in the family besides me who could speak and write in English. 

Prior to starting the family business, they had zero experience in running business. But my mom, being the most enterprising one, was quick to learn all that was necessary and she supported my dad to open a stationery store. We, the children, helped out. I only worked with my family for a while because I was pursuing my higher education. 

My parents, practically learned how to run a business in their early 50's and managed to leave a family legacy as the business stabilizes over the years, winning many loyal customers in our town. It's never easy to compete with other bigger similar businesses managed by people who are more business savvy. But I'm proud to say that they rock the business as they're not just surviving, but growing as well. 

My sister learned the operations side of business and started to get more involved. Prior to this, she worked in random jobs at the malls. Now, besides helping at the stationery store, she occasionally sells apparels and accessories as well using referral marketing. I think that's a wonderful learning platform. 

My brother is currently actively managing the family business. I gotta say, being a non-serious and playful person that he was, he has grown a lot in terms of his capabilities to run the business like a boss. He took over the business just a few years back when my parents decided to retire. He's quite an entrepreneur himself and being an older sibling, I have the tendency to talk to him as if he's just a kid but he impresses me many times with his thoughts on business. If he's not so into his video games, I think he would be a very successful entrepreneur. 

So, there, my very personal sharing of the influences of the family on me to have chosen the path of entrepreneurship. And you know what? Contrary to popular beliefs, education is not everything. It's the mindset and attitude. I've heard and known of educated people who started many businesses, not only their business failed, they're still paying their debt up to now. 

My family might not be millionaires but I'm grateful that they provided the stability for me to get out there and start my own business ventures. Funny thing about my mom. I can never share too much about my business ideas because without even having a slight idea of what I plan to do, she would give me thousands of dollars as start-up capital before I even finish "presenting" my business proposal to her. So, this behavior of her is always a sign of confidence she shown in me. I'm not afraid of failing because I have a safety net. If I don't take advantage of it now, then when?