Giles Cadman 
Welcome to the blog! As you may know, topics on the blog usually focus on tips for starting a successful business and sharing entrepreneurial strategies! It’s obvious I love to share stories and give advice. But being successful goes way beyond business. It’s an all-encompassing, strategic way to live your life.
In this series, I’ve outlined the things that make me able to make smart business decisions but also to be happy. I’ve written about the importance of not being available 24/7, the importance of rewarding yourself and having a clear mind and now, I want to write about family relationships and how these also play a part in success.
How does family relate to business?
If you're feeling a little out of the loop, I have two boys in their early twenties. They are just simply wonderful boys and I love spending time with them. But what allows me to spend time with them and take the little fun vacations? Conducting a successful business! I travel a lot and I know the disastrous effect this can have on some families. So I wanted to share my tips on keeping good relationships and teaching them about the art of business.
Teaching your kids about business
Whenever I can, I love to bring Jack and George on business trips with me. But it's not just fun and games – I put them to work! I take my boys to meetings, have them sit in on calls, involve them in the transactions and get them to understand the parameters of the deal. In this way, I've taught them negotiation skills and also to question everything.
I've also taught them the many pitfalls and difficulties of business and I think it's important to not separate the two. The fact is that work can be really hard sometimes. They’ve seen me on the nights that I’m up at 2 a.m. in the morning working. As a parent, it's important to show your kids that life is difficult sometimes. But you need to be able to control the controllables and limit the number of changes to any situation.
Teaching them about success
While teaching them about business is not always the easiest, it's important to make sure your kids understand that your work is the reason you can do what you love to do. If you love to travel, bring your kids so they can understand how it works.
For example, I love taking fishing trips with the boys. We love going to British Columbia, in rural Canada, going camping and eating delicious food. They often come and work with me for extended periods when they have time off school. I love taking fun, wacky vacations with them "“ my oldest accompanied me to Vegas on a business trip last month (and I have plenty of good news to share from that trip soon!) I thoroughly love spending time with them in this way and always try to bring it back to the importance of being successful in life.
A final word
Parenting isn't always easy, but it's so important to me to have a good relationship with the boys. After all, all you really want as a parent is for your children to be happy.
How do you teach your children about business and success? Comment and let me know.
Giles Cadman is Chairman of The Cadman Capital Group, a group of cohesive, complementary companies, operating in the international trade, retail, leisure, and investment markets. Learn more about Giles.
