Should You Go Into Business With Your Parents?

Q: My parents have offered to give me the money I need to start my business. There's only one catch--they want to work there, too! Any advice?

A: Before you say yes--or no--to your parents' generous offer, the three of you need to step back and think about what you're really getting yourselves into.

While your parents may give you far more generous terms than a bank or a VC, they're clearly walking in with expectations. You need to make sure those expectations can be met. The same goes for you as their son or daughter. "Sometimes you have to make business decisions that, though it's the best thing for the business, maybe it's mean or insulting to your dad/mom/boss," says business psychologist and career coach Debra Condren, author of Ambition Is Not a Dirty Word: A Woman's Guide to Earning Her Worth and Achieving Her Dreams.

"Say you determine that your dad is lousy at accounting and that function should go to you or be outsourced, but he doesn't want to let go. Eventually, you may have to fire your mom or dad, and that may cause a family rift."

Or it could be you, their precious child, who doesn’t make the cut as CEO. "It makes it hard to go over to their house for a warm, fuzzy dinner after they've kicked you out of the family business," Condren says.

Even if things work out great, there could be other problems, such as your desire to sell the company or switch to another career. The key to making a venture with your parents work is to establish a good personal and working relationship with clear boundaries. "Work is work," Condren says. "Personal is separate."