A Family IT/Tech Business??

adzoox writes "As I have just hired on my girlfriend to help out with some secretarial work in my Apple consulting, sales, and technical service business, and considering having my brother work with me soon; I'd like to know what the /. readers think about family in the 'Tech Workplace.' Obviously things aren't hectic like a restaurant, but my father and friends have all warned me against mixing business and pleasure and family. Do any of you have successful family owned IT businesses, eBay businesses, or programming/software consulting engineering businesses and what's been or secret to success? If not successful what unique problems did you encounter? How can I make it successful? And most importantly how do you handle authority (tardiness, work ethic, and workplace codes) with a girlfriend?"

Comments

Labor Outsourcing

[Sour Protein Supreme]

While I agree with your post (in theory) up to a point, the reality is that immigrant workers (in particular, illegal ones) have been shown to be significantly better at time management and have greater productivity than their white counterparts. Many employers have a preconceived notion of illegals as dirty, uneducated "wetbacks" who are only good at menial janitorial jobs. The reality is that the American economy would mushroom if only we would take advantage of the enormous low-cost workforce out there currently wasted as tomato-pickers and housemaids.

For instance, if the federal minimum wage law was amended to allow undocumented workers to be paid $2-3/hour, employers could afford up expand their operations up to 75%! Imagine creating HUNDREDS of thousands of jobs with the stroke of the pen, at NO EXTRA cost to industry! These are numbers George W. Bush could only dream of with his well-intentioned but ultimately ineffective tax cuts. Hopefully the upcoming election will highlight this important issue.

If they are best for the job

[t_allardyce]

Well your family is pretty much responsible for your future - everyone rides on the success of their parents etc. Just look at bush, hes a nothing, a no-body, he hasnt a decent thought to his name, but hes the president of the USA, why? because of his father and family and their history. There are many examples of the same thing with past presidents and the same goes for business. Unless you're one of the very very lucky few who make their own fortune (no bill gates isnt one his family were rich) then you gotta band together as a family and make sure you make it big.