On Saturday afternoon, as I was checking on my plants, my mom came home after stepping out with her sister, proclaiming she’s buying a restaurant. “What?!” I reacted.
My aunt’s neighbor runs a local Mongolian Grill restaurant and he’s wanting to sell the restaurant and move somewhere that’s less dull than the suburbs of northern Utah. The last time my mom talked to these people was on my birthday when she had invited me to dine at the restaurant. The restaurant is called a “Mongolian Grill restaurant” but it’s actually a buffet of sort. You pick the ingredients and someone will stir-fry the ingredients for you.
My mom reasoned that she’s worried her siblings might be out of work soon, so she wanted to ensure they have an alternative to turn to. Her siblings are currently working at a factory that produces the cookies you see at the grocery store during the holidays like Valentine’s Day, Easter, and 4th of July. Unless people stop eating these frosted sugar cookies, there will still be work for her siblings.
That night, at dinner, my mom asked if I know how to do payroll and taxes. She wanted me to work for free as an accountant when she’s the owner of the restaurant. “No,” I answered, “and if I do, I don’t want to be a part of it.”
There’s no way she’s roping me into another job. Over a decade ago, when I was in college, trying to finish my first undergraduate degree, she roped me into taking multiple jobs when all I wanted was to focus on school. I put my foot down then but she got her sisters to team up and forced me to take on the jobs or else. That caused me to fail two of my courses and my GPA to suffer because I was working three jobs and attending school full-time.
Now more than a decade later, I have a steady job, some fun hobbies, and a semi-okay life, I’m not about to take on more jobs because of her wants. I don’t want any part of this, as the saying goes, “never do business with family.”
This is Another Story 
Food service is one of the most difficult types of businesses to manage. Inventory alone is a nightmare. Then there’s regulation and licensing, insurance, taxes… And finally, since it a public-facing type of business, there’s maintenance of the customer base that keeps it going, as well as the kinds of employees that keep them coming back. Over the years, I’ve known a lot of people who’ve started or bought into restaurants. But I only know of a couple that have survived. Running a restaurant profitably is a serious, full-time, grueling business.
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You sure got that right and I know that even though I veto on this idea, if this goes through, it might come back and bite me from behind.
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Stick to your guns.
It’s not just a case of having her name over the door. There are insurances, regulations, taxes are different, health certificates, food and hygiene requirements, staff responsibility, money management, services, supplies, and you have no social life!
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I feel like I’m the only one in the family that’s aware of the legal matters that’s involved with running a business. I wanted to be an entrepreneur before landing my current job and I did my homework on what it was needed. Unfortunately, I received zero support on that endeavor. I guess it’s how it is around here, when my mom wants something, she will have the support but when anyone else wants something, support is nowhere to be found.
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I’ve experienced that feeling, though luckily not from my parents.
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It looks like she might go through with this. I’m crossing my fingers that it won’t come back and bite me.
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I hope not. It’s so unfair on you.
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I know, I hope not, too.
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That’s the right strategy to keep the relations going!
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