PRESIDENT’S VIEW
10 Things We Business Kids Should Be Telling Our Parents But Are Scared To BY ABYDEE BUTLER MOORE
A Abydee Butler Moore is GAWDA’s 2020-2021 president, as well as President and COO of Butler Gas Products Company. She can be reached at 412771-7660 ext. 316 or abutlermoore@ butlergas.com.
n overwhelming majority of GAWDA distributors are multi-generation, family-owned businesses. Likely one of the reasons I love this industry, this dense population of family and succession makes for an M&A field day. Eat or be eaten. Grow or die. The ship is not going down on my watch. These rallying cries of survival make business fun. Family business has purpose and divine stewardship. It also provides the joy of spending time creating something bigger than yourself with the people you love. But it’s not without its complexities. We DOBs and SOBs (daughters of boss/sons of boss) are born into great opportunity. Literally, we simply got lucky with who our parents are. Being part of a family business is the most rewarding and most challenging dynamic possible. Families rip businesses apart, businesses rip families apart, and if you’re able to avoid either of those fates at all costs, you accept a life of blurred lines with Thanksgiving table Board meetings. “It’s not personal, it’s business” is a statement that has always made me chuckle. Whoever coined this cliché did not work with their family. From my experience in family business, most problems, big and small, arise from not having a conversation early into an issue. Nothing explodes more violently than festering feelings with the
accelerant of financial implications. Have the tough talks and have them soon. For my fellow DOBs and SOBs out there, and for our parents, here is my list of 10 Things We Business Kids Should Be Telling Our Parents But Are Scared To:
1. D on’t gift us the business; help us buy it. Milestones mean more when they are earned. You also value things more when you pay for them. Stock gifts and trusts make sense in many estate plans, but the true gift, if you want to give one, is helping us get some skin in the game.
2. T each us what has worked. And what has not worked. Sure, we may be better at technology and marketing, but you’re better at everything else. While possible that raw talent skips a generation, and we missed it, more likely than not, this far superior competency is due to your experience. Building a business for decades has given you Rain Man math skills with Wolf of Wall Street financial prowess. We are in awe. Share your secrets with us every chance you get. continued on next page
6 • Spring 2021
