Recent posts

As someone who runs a distributorship of a water filter company, I just want to respond to the comments about why the father in #108424 couldn't just sell the business or appoint an employee to inherit the company. First of all, appointing an employee as a CEO while the owner sits back as a shareholder isn't always viable for an SME. As an owner of a small business you can't just go around hiring an army of directors. There's no money for it. What typically happens is the owner does most of everything, maybe they hire a HR manager, couple of accountants, clerks, and the rest are typically blue-collar (stockers, forklift drivers, order pickers, janitorial staff). Trading isn't tech or finance. It's an old-fashioned business. If I go down my business goes down that's it. It's more akin to a job. Many smaller distributorships supplying products to SMEs in Singapore rely on the relationship customers have with the owner of the business and not so much with the business as an independent entity. I have customers who continue to buy from me although they can get it cheaper from other bigger suppliers because of history. If I sold the business my customers will not automatically be novated to the new owner. They know me, and in a few years when my boy is old enough, they will know my boy. People should take a lot of pride in being part of their family businesses. A big part of any civilization is a sense of continuity in certain aspects of its culture. OP was right in that Japan wouldn't feel like Japan were it not for thousands of ramen shops, mochi shops, dessert shops, tonkatsu shops, that are 4-5 some even 7-8 generations old. BreadTalk will be passed down, Tiong Bahru bakery will be passed down, Phoon Huat has been passed down, Far East has and will be passed down, hell even the country was passed down from father to son etc. There are businesses that make up the texture of Singapore. If we lose all these small businesses because kids don't want to take over from their parents, then in 30 years time, Singapore will still look and feel like a startup. Don't you want your grandchildren to eat at the same chicken rice store or bak chor mee store as you did as a child? I don't know how important a national identity is for most people but I personally feel that if we don't even have an identity why even have a country? I'm a father and I will do everything for my son. He is everything to me. This is a primeval instinct that happens to also be good for the economy. I am making investments that I will never be old enough to see. I am only doing that because I have a son who has inherited more than just my likeness, he inherited my personality, my tics, my accent etc. He also happens to be hardworking, ambitious, polite, cheerful etc. I know Singaporeans like to go on about meritocracy. One thing we need to remind ourselves of is you don't decide your own merit, nor do bystanders. Merit is decided by stakeholders. In my business, I decide who is best to take over the business, not some random nobody off the street who thinks they get to decide who is most deserving.