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While working with family has a lot of issues, there are some benefits of working with family for me. My dad worked a lot of hours and still does. An 80-100 hour week is considered a normal week for my dad. This work ethic and passion for business was a bonding activity where we had hours of just driving across the country and talking. I never once thought about my dad being gone on the road as a negative as it was his job. I knew that if I wanted to spend time with him we could do it either working his sales job or working around the house. Some of my best memories are of us washing cars, laying pavers, or doing yard work. This unique relationship translated into an open conversation as colleagues when we worked together. I have told my dad many times he is being stupid and he has told me that I don't know what I am talking about endless times. We don't take it personal though as we know we both want the business to succeed. In the corporate world there are very few people who are open and honest with those around them. The PC culture makes it challenging to bring up tough decisions and corporate politics lead businesses to make stupid decisions.

I also learned a lot of crazy skills at a very young age as well. How many people have you met that were managing 45+ year old employees at the age of 19? I was managing a wide range of employees and had to take on a lot of responsibility due to necessity. I became an expert in accounting, corporate finance, and marketing by working at this start-up.

A start-up also gives you the opportunity to make a large impact and to see how it effects the end customer. Being able to control the entire process is a blessing and a curse. If you are good you will be very happy however when things fail, it's all on you!

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