Utilizing your kids for your Biz

[Luiz Souza]

For sure many here have teenagers (sons or daughters) that are probably helping you in one way or another.

Could you share this info here? What do they do, how do you compensate them, what do you pay them, etc?

Thank you.

LS

[Arlen Chou]

@Luiz Souza I have 2 kids, a daughter who will turn 15 next month and a son who just turned 13 back in November.  I am a buy and hold investor who does his own renovations, along with working a W2 job.  In 2013 I started the kids off with helping me with demolition and paint.  You have to make it fun, so I gave them baseball bats and hammers and told them to go to town on the kitchen cabinets!  In 2014 I moved them up to power tools like compound miter saws and tile saws. Additionally, I do all of the document signing at home so the kids can see the people come through and I let them know who those people were and why they were there.  

When I am hunting for new properties, I discuss the types of properties and the general neighborhoods over dinner.  

I run profit/loss and cash flow statements for each of my properties.  I just started to expose them to the "red and black" numbers.  I keep everything very casual, as I don't want to force the education.  I think a "learning through osmosis" process is better at these younger ages.

My kids have been paid with full stomachs and a roof over their heads.  Call me old school but I expect them to help the family without me handing them money.  However, in terms of monetary payments, I have been setting aside any and all money they get for birthdays and holidays in addition to adding what I believe is a fair days wages for any work they have done for me.  They were not aware of the amount of money that has been saved for them until this year.  After 15 years of straight savings, my daughter has a high 5 digit savings account.  A crazy statistic that I threw at my kids is that the average amount of money in an Americans savings account is less than $5000!

My next step will be to help my freshman daughter use her funds to purchase "her own deal".  Obviously there are legal and financial hurdles she could not overcome as a jobless minor.  But we will go through the property selection and negotiations together and use her money as the basis for the down payment.  I plan to have her work directly with contractors and property managers and also managing the finances of the property.  Of course I will be in the shadows verifying and approving everything.

By the time she is a senior in high school I would like her to find and negotiate her own deal.  Again, as a minor without a job the finances will have to all be underwritten by me, but the point is for her to learn.

During the spring of her freshman year in college, I would like her to find a deal close to her university so she can move out of the dorms her sophomore year.  With that property, I would like to see her get "roommates/tenants" and experience property management directly.

Once she is done with college it will be up to her what she wants to do with her portfolio and her career path.  I also plan to do all of this for my son.

I hope this helps.

-Arlen