I Hired My Mom • Hacker News Board

Re: I Hired My Mom

#31

Post by rajanikanthr » Fri, Jan 10, 2014, 8:33 PM UTC

leothekim wrote: post #27

rafe33 wrote: post #14

I hope it works out. My personal rule to live by: Never hire someone you can't fire.

+1 to this. What if you need to fire your parent or spouse? Sure you might feel like you can do it, but for a whole lot of people the power dynamics and differentiating a personal relationship and professional one is tricky. I mean, I wouldn't write a blog post recommending this. Couple quick scenarios come to mind: "Why are you firing me?" "I need someone more qualified. You've done good work, It's not personal." "B…

"Well, you should have thought of that when you fired me."

perfect statement.. better to place mom or spouse in a company where you can give recommendation and have contacts not in our own shop, unless you are running coffeshop (OK I guess :)

Re: I Hired My Mom

#32

Post by nimblegorilla » Fri, Jan 10, 2014, 8:40 PM UTC

wikwocket wrote: post #13

sergiotapia wrote: post #9

I disagree: You caught a lucky break here, but you are the exception, not the standard. Family/friends and money don't mix well. They will always ruin the relationship. I've seen it countless times.

Absolutely yes. I am happy for the OP, but I must also disagree with his central point, i.e. "it's at least worth a try." If things go south at all, you risk poisoning a family relationship. Family is precious; you generally only get one family. And you just cannot undo some types of damage done to/by family members. I know a lot of people could hire their parents or siblings and get along great, but I also know a lo…

I agree with everything except the part about parents.

The problem arises when someone is irresponsible or has bad communication.

If you trust your parents and they are good with money then I think it is a great idea if they are willing to help with accounting. Good parents are always happy when their kids are successful.

Friends and other family members can cause problems even if the relationship seems good.

Re: I Hired My Mom

#33

Post by bradt » Fri, Jan 10, 2014, 9:07 PM UTC

schenecstasy wrote: post #26

I hired your mother too, Trebek.

This is my favourite comment so far.

Re: I Hired My Mom

#34

Post by paskakapu2 » Fri, Jan 10, 2014, 9:10 PM UTC

You basically practice nepotism. Most of your staff and peers and people around you consider that as a form of corruption. Congratulations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepotism

Re: I Hired My Mom

#35

Post by bradt » Fri, Jan 10, 2014, 9:16 PM UTC

Thanks for the comments! Bonus stories for you wonderful HN'ers:

My dad started out as an auto mechanic and painter. He decided to setup his own shop with his first cousin and it was a disaster. They butted heads constantly. My dad sold his shares to his partner and moved on to other things. They tried it, it didn't work out, and so they moved on. Throughout my childhood our family was very close with my dad's first cousin and his family. They relationship is still strong today.

My mother and her brother had a dispute about money over fifteen years ago. They still do not speak today.

Family and friends can be tricky when it involves money, there is no question.

Re: I Hired My Mom

#36

Post by mbesto » Fri, Jan 10, 2014, 9:19 PM UTC

My dad, who's run a small business successfully for 25+ years, recently retired and I've agreed to have him support me on the operations side of my business. My mom is by far the best usability study ever. She's in her 60s and doesn't get technology that well but can use pinterest. If my website is usable for her, it'll be usable for anyone.

Re: I Hired My Mom

#37

Post by morgante » Fri, Jan 10, 2014, 9:33 PM UTC

notastartup wrote: post #8

this was very touching to read and it's encouraged me to do the same. I don't have a wife or a fiance but I would never entrust them with this kind of sensitive material because there's a real risk of relationships souring. With family it's easier to deal with and it's easier to communicate instead of trying to bury things in order to not ruin a marriage. "Hey Ma, need you to stop hiding grocery purchases under compa…

> "Hey babe, need you to stop buying expensive items under company's funds" > "fine, since you don't love me you can marry someone else"

Phew! Sounds like you dodged a bullet there (marrying someone lacking basic moral integrity).

Re: I Hired My Mom

#38

Post by vikas5678 » Fri, Jan 10, 2014, 9:36 PM UTC

I think I missed the part where this is a tax deductible expense for him? Otherwise I think I'd keep my family away from my startup. Its stressful enough without having to add family into the mix.

Re: I Hired My Mom

#39

Post by mathattack » Fri, Jan 10, 2014, 10:07 PM UTC

sergiotapia wrote: post #9

I disagree: You caught a lucky break here, but you are the exception, not the standard. Family/friends and money don't mix well. They will always ruin the relationship. I've seen it countless times.

Hiring family can be tough. If you would hire your Mom, would you also fire her?

Re: I Hired My Mom

#40

Post by jnardiello » Fri, Jan 10, 2014, 10:26 PM UTC

kvinnako wrote: post #25

jnardiello wrote: post #6

Well, currently both my mom and dad are working with/for my company. My mom manages the full book-keeping of the company). My father, because of the general economical situation in Italy, was left jobless. So, as soon a position opened at my company i simply proposed him to join. He is the warehouse manager now. The thing in working with parents, in case they eventually are accountant, is that they can access all the…

How do you deal with payscale?? Do you decide just some market rate or do you decide how much worth is their work? Doesn't it complicate when you have a business partner?

Payscale is balanced with current market rates. For us all it was always an easy topic anyway. I guess that the fact that we are italians helped a lot as we value very little individual wealth and give a lot of importance to family savings. Currently (mom joined about 1 year ago, my dad little less than 6 months) they are happy with what they get.