Children educated by business trips

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The Oklahoman, May, 2006

Children educated by business trips

Mary Nihn and her son, Michael, work together on a few business issues.

Paula Burkes Erickson, Business Writer

Business trips are perfect opportunities to teach children life lessons they won’t learn in school, say financial experts and Oklahoma parents who’ve done it.

Mary Nhin, who with her husband owns Kang’s Asian Bistro in Edmond, includes her 9-year-old son in business meetings with vendors, attorneys and accountants.

Planning a business trip this summer while your children are out of school? Take them with you.

Tips for taking children on business trips

As a courtesy, tell associates in advance that you plan to bring your children.
Prepare your children for the trip. Several days out, explain where you’re going, on what date you depart, the agenda for the trip, etc.
For younger children, bring books, drawing pads and others activities for them to do in the meetings they’ll attend with you.
Spend time during the day explaining business principles to your children, so they understand what is happening. For example, when you pay for meals, explain about tax deductions.
Ask children for their ideas. They may see your business from a completely different perspective and offer great suggestions.

Source: Loral Langemeier, author of “The Millionaire Maker”

“When he was mastering addition and subtraction in school last year, we introduced balancing the checkbook,” Nhin said. “He got it right away. More recently, he realized Daddy opened the restaurant not only to make money, but also share our culture and provide 40 new jobs. That was a great moment.”

Perhaps most importantly, her son has learned money isn’t just spent, but invested, donated and saved for things people really want, Nhin said.

In her son’s case, that’s an $890 Michael Jordan rookie card.

Similarly, Debbie Partin of Durant has worked at the same place for 13 years, but her 15-year-old son had no idea what she did, until he accompanied her on a business trip to Washington last year.

“Now, instead of just thinking ‘Mom’s on the phone, or the road, all the time,’ he understands I make loans to rural businesses that originate with the Small Business Administration,” said Partin, financial services director for Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma Inc. “Among other things, he learned the importance of appearance and using the manners I always nag him about, like sitting up straight and keeping his elbows off the table.”

Taking children on business trips also can teach them how to build wealth, said Loral Langemeier, Nevada-based author of “The Millionaire Maker.” Langemeier, a multimillionaire investor and single mom, has taken her son, now 6, on dozens of business trips, including commercial real estate closings in Hawaii, Mexico and Oklahoma.

“If you asked him if he’d like to go to Disneyland or back to a gas well we invested in, he’d pick the well,” Langemeier said. “He got to wear a hard hat and learned how the gas is pumped out of the ground and makes it to your car.”

On other trips, her son learned about sales receipts and tax deductions, and the differences among owners, managers and employees.

“You can’t just take your kids along, park them in the back seat and tell them to be quiet,” Langemeier said. “You have to be with them and explain business principles, so they understand what’s happening.”

Edmond-based pharmaceutical salesman James Grantham says taking his 10- and 14-year-old sons on sales calls not only is good for his sons, but also for business. “My boys learn to treat everyone with respect, look people in the eye, offer a firm handshake and a smile,” Grantham said. “Meanwhile, when they’re along, physicians often will take a little extra time with me.