ITL231: How to Actually Get Your Teenager to Talk to You

In the Loop with Andy Andrews

On this week’s episode, I’m talking about the importance of having a child start their own business and how it opens them up to communication as a teenager.

I had a conversation the other day with Joe Bullard and his son Ty who run an auto dealership “empire.”

• Joe took over his dad’s Oldsmobile dealership, and now Ty has recently taken the reins.
• I asked Ty what the smartest thing his dad ever did was, and he said it was taking a step back from City Council and other things so that he could spend time with his son.
• It occurred to Joe as he looked long-term that the best thing he could do to continue to expand the business for generations was to invest time in the person who would likely take it over.

I have had a lot of parents of teenagers say, “My teen won’t talk to me,” and the typical response is, “Well, that’s just a teenager.”

• One of the huge benefits of prompting Austin to have his own business was we put him in a position that he had to talk to us.
• Since age 12, he knew we weren’t buying him a car, so when he asked “How do I get the money?” I told him there are three ways:
• You can save the $5 and $10 you get for your birthday and in a couple years you’ll have around $400 and you can buy a $400 car.
• You can get a job at age 14 and work minimum wage for 2 years.
• You can start your own business by figuring out how to create value for other people, and the more obvious the value, the more business you will have.

Tune in to hear why this approach will make you your child’s go-to person for advice, and why this is the best time for them to struggle.

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