In the Loop with Andy Andrews

ITL231: How to Actually Get Your Teenager to Talk to You

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On this week’s episode, I’m talking about the importance of having a child start their own business and how it opens them up to communication as a teenager.

 

I had a conversation the other day with Joe Bullard and his son Ty who run an auto dealership “empire.”

  • Joe took over his dad’s Oldsmobile dealership, and now Ty has recently taken the reins.
  • I asked Ty what the smartest thing his dad ever did was, and he said it was taking a step back from City Council and other things so that he could spend time with his son.
  • It occurred to Joe as he looked long-term that the best thing he could do to continue to expand the business for generations was to invest time in the person who would likely take it over.

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    I have had a lot of parents of teenagers say, “My teen won’t talk to me,” and the typical response is, “Well, that’s just a teenager.”

    • One of the huge benefits of prompting Austin to have his own business was we put him in a position that he had to talk to us.
    • Since age 12, he knew we weren’t buying him a car, so when he asked “How do I get the money?” I told him there are three ways:
    • You can save the $5 and $10 you get for your birthday and in a couple years you’ll have around $400 and you can buy a $400 car.
    • You can get a job at age 14 and work minimum wage for 2 years.
    • You can start your own business by figuring out how to create value for other people, and the more obvious the value, the more business you will have.

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      Tune in to hear why this approach will make you your child’s go-to person for advice, and why this is the best time for them to struggle.

       

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        In the Loop with Andy AndrewsBy Andy Andrews, hosted by David Loy
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