The family business
After a quick intro into the principles of entrepreneurship, I realized that my grandfather was a pretty good one. Last winter, while on vacation, my uncles told me more details of how my mom, and they were raised and the many struggles they encounter during their childhood. My family comes from a poor background in Colombia, and during my grandfather’s life he had many business adventures that failed for many reasons. The one that succeed he had was having a shop where they build dining sets out of raw material, most of the time recycle materials because they couldn’t afford high quality stuff ready to be use. They told me how they will bring steel bars that were usually bend or used for other purposes before and they had to straighten out with hammers and techniques use by people that work with heavy metals. My grandfather and them learn how weld the pieces together, mom would do the upholstery for the chairs and together they would bring this beautiful dining sets. The shop help raised a family of eight kids, help my mom go through college and my uncle to venture into different paths in life. The shop did close in the early 1990's due to my grandfather getting old and health issues. Many of this set, or only the chairs made by grandpa’s shop are still being used by family or people who purchased them.
Hey Herzen! Great story and picture! Your grandfather’s perseverance of continuously starting business ventures and not stopping until one succeeded is admirable -- especially one that helped raise eight kids and paved future endeavors of other family members! I also liked how the dining sets were made out of recycled materials. I feel like that gives the sets a more personal touch, making them more special. Again, so awesome! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHello Herzen! We don't have a family business, but my brother built up his own plumbing business. It's definitely interesting to see how everything unfolds currently for his future, he's pretty well-off right now. I can imagine him in the future when he's a grandpa telling stories to his grandchildren about his ventures and his path to making a stable company in the trades! Awesome story.
ReplyDeleteHey Herzen! That is quite an incredible story! I really like how your story connected with what Professor Pryor discussed in class: No matter what happens in life, entrepreneurship will always be there. It’s also incredible that the venture was able to provide for 8 kids and cover education costs! This whole story is truly inspiring, and I am glad that I was able to hear it!
ReplyDeleteKind regards,
Matthew