A college student can be described as a kid on a roller coaster ride. The excitement before joining the university, daydreaming and planning ahead, stepping on despite the fears and finally experiencing the ups and downs of the adventure called life. One of the many questions that they face during this time is what they’re going to do once they graduate. They are often asked to set goals and dreams beforehand so as to make it possible for them to reach. A daunting question that many students who belong to families that own businesses face: Are you going to join the family business or make success on your own? Sounds very practical, right? Let’s dig deeper into this.
When it comes to making this overly exaggerated complicated mind-boggling decision, lots of moving pieces and relationship bundles can interfere with the decision making process. On one hand, you’ll get the lovely environment full of fluff and family, on the other hand, there are nepotism and entitlement of non-active family members who are a part even though their contribution to success is zero. But what lies ahead is a very common misconception that those who go for their family businesses are often those students who failed to succeed. Most of them are taunted, criticised, demotivated and aren’t considered qualified enough to apply for jobs or other careers.
I asked Nirbhay Singh Chauhan, a final year student of Journalism about this:
“My family owns a farmland business of Apples in Himachal and my entire family participates in the agricultural activities with great enthusiasm and excitement. Pursuing my career in photography here at LPU, I’ve also developed a keen interest and respect in what my father indulges in. I’ve also learned many interesting things about the Apple farming business and would definitely be a part of it along with pursuing my own passions.”
A professional with capitalized skills and knowledge can inculcate a lot of achievements in the business. Such students and young professionals possess the zeal to succeed and work hard. They develop a sense and grab the basic skills for the business as they learn the little tricks and nooks from their family members. Working together also helps to build their teamwork spirit along with teaching those ethics and balancing personal professional relations. They’re qualitatively sharper as they relate theoretical knowledge to real life situations in an environment where there’s instant feedback with scope for learning. Hence, it’s a misbelief and should not be.
