Support Your Anxious Teen/Young Adult in the Family Business
When you have a family business, it can be really stressful. Not only are you juggling running it, but you also have a life outside of it. It can be challenging to learn how to keep everything in balance. Especially if you have teens or young adults that you are trying to raise.
The truth is, family businesses can cause a lot of stress on the family, overall. But when you have potential heirs to the family business, for them, it can be especially hard. As these young people grow up and learn about the world, it's likely they have a lot of anxiety about the future. Not only for their careers and the possibility of running the business someday - additionally, the anxiety that just comes with being a teen or young adult.
The good news is, there are many ways you can support your kids to help them with this anxiety.
Remember, There Is Still Time
Maybe you are pretty adamant that someday, your children will inherit the family business and run it. Your dreams and aspirations for your business and their children are natural. After all, you want to see them succeed and flourish in life.
But for the teens and young adults, they may not be so sure. Right now, their development in terms of emotions, hormones, and physical growth are impacting their lives daily. They are figuring out that life isn't always what we want it to be. And they likely have a lot of anxiety over the possibility of inheriting the family business - whether they have been expressly told that or not. That's okay, there's still time.
Most teenagers and young adults really have no idea what they for sure want out of life. From their careers and jobs, to college, to where they want to live. When the world seems so open with possibilities and yet closed off at the same time, their anxieties will naturally spike.
Prioritize listening to how life is impacting them presently, before prepaRIng them for the future
There's still time. Neither you nor your kids have to make final decisions on the direction of where things go. Taking an interest in what stresses they are currently going through, is an opportunity to strengthen your support as a parent. You don’t have to agree on what constitutes as stressful. There is often more than meets the eye when it comes to what worries them. From academic, social, athletic and moral expectations they face, add a layer of things only familiar to their generation. The fact that they experience a situation anxiously is important to recognize.
Validating that they might feel anxious, hurt, angry or any other emotion that applies, will go a long way. Being willing to listen without interruption and provide wisdom (if they welcome it) will also provide opportunity to strengthen your relationship. Of course, this relationship-building is in conjunction with parental discernment and setting limits when necessary.
Talking about succession can be a healthy, positive series of conversations when pressure is taken out of the equation. This applies to not only those young people who might feel anxious about the future, or those who are eager about it. Considering the brain of a teen does not fully reach development until about the age of 25, the adults in their lives can utilize flexibility.
While you may have high hopes for them continuing on the family business, they may not share in these dreams right now. That may change in the future - and it might not. As the one who is possibly or eventually passing on the baton, you might benefit from seeking your own support if ambiguity is spiking anxiety within you.
They Aren't Sure Of Who They Are Outside The Family Wealth
It's likely your children grew up being afforded more opportunities and privileges than their peers. It's commendable that you have worked so hard to provide them with everything you possibly could. And it's not that they are ungrateful for everything you did. But the wealth that they were afforded can sometimes make them question things.
Questions such as, "Do my peers like me for me, or because of my family's business and wealth?" "Can I trust anyone?" Then amplify that with the intensity that comes with being in your teen and adult years? It's no wonder they have so much anxiety.
Supporting your children with anxiety is something that is not easy, but can be done. Always remember that there is time. If you are struggling as a business owner and parent, financial therapy may help you find greater balance. Let's connect soon to help you find the best way forward.