To mark Mother’s Day, we share the stories of mothers and children whose idea of minding their business is to work together: a mom and daughter who share a flair for food, a mother whose real estate talents spurred her children’s career choice, and a storyteller who has inspired her daughter to translate her stories to the screen.
Blendl, who immigrated from Mexico with her husband and two daughters some 20 years ago, took her first cooking class at six years old, studied culinary arts and ran a Mexican restaurant in West Vancouver, but eventually settled into a job as a translator for the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency.
“Job descriptions and clear boundaries help,” said Andrea. “If we need to talk about stuff, we set a business meeting. We keep the family and the family business separate.” “You also have the shared values of the family, whether they are spiritual, philanthropic or relate to their role within the community, and the relationships — you are passing along relationships to your customer base, your supplier and buyer base, these relationships are built up through the family chain,” said Strike.Amy Belliveau said that watching her mother, realtor Eleanor Wrigley, in action as she was growing up inspired her to go into the same business.
Although they work together as a team, each of the kids has brought their own expertise to the business. Amy knows acreages and farmland like the back of her hand, Curtis is growing development opportunities, and Eleanor focuses on family homes. Strike said statistics show that in North America, most family businesses fall apart within three generations, while in Europe, particularly the Netherlands, many family businesses have survived for hundreds of years.