Instilling a Sense of Responsibility

Listen to Jordan Lennen, 2nd generation Dairy Queen franchise owner, discuss how being a part of a family business can instill a sense of responsibility in the next generation. Integrating the next generation during their youth into lower levels of the family business teaches responsibility at a young age, while inspiring a greater sense of responsibility as an adult. Values that are created at the family level often embed themselves in the future of the family business.

I definitely think that I had an advantage being part of a family business that young. Even I remember when I was 14, 15, just the fact that my family owned it, I felt like I had to do more, so if I saw people standing around when it wasn’t busy I would go out of my way to clean something, I’d find something to clean or I’d fill something that was empty, and it really taught me I guess to take pride in what I’m doing, even if it’s something as simple as filling a box of chocolates that are half full or whatever, it instilled that in us, so I’m happy about that. Some of the challenges I think I faced was that you know, when your younger, when I was 17, 18, and in the summers obviously my friends would be doing a lot of things, going up north together, a lot of them didn’t work and because my family owned the Dairy Queen and I was an employee, as much as I wanted to go up and do all those things, often I felt like I had to be helping out and I had to be working. And we never really argued about it because I always wanted to be there but I definitely, it was definitely something like, I don’t want to say I was missing out, but I felt like I needed to be there and I don’t think a lot of kids had to deal with that in their summers when their like, 17 years old. The effect of that has made me into someone who’s really takes my responsibilities serious, anything I commit to I usually follow through with because of that so I’m happy for it.