xoSelf (short for Love Yourself)) is a weekly advice series where women can anonymously seek advice on topics about relationships, work, finding themselves or life challenges. xoSelf is responded to by educator & life coach Dr. Walter Hidalgo.
Dear xoSelf: I love my mother and she is a great manager, however, I feel if I hire her to work as my son’s manager it would destroy our relationship. My son has a popular YouTube channel and has tons of requests, but isn’t making any serious money as of yet. I would love to keep what little he does make in the house, but I don’t know. My mother and I have different working styles and unfortunately, I don’t have the time to manage him for him to excel to where he wants to go. I feel that she would have no boundary setting with family between myself, my son, or my household. I asked my son what he thinks (he’s 12) and he loves the idea, but also says he doesn’t want to hurt her feelings if they disagree on some things. What should we do?
Answer: Mixing business with family is a challenging endeavor and a lot of that has to do with the fact that people mix emotions/family ties with business. In other words, if you want to get into business with your family you need to learn how to separate business from family matters. Set boundaries. Boundary setting with family is extremely hard, especially in the beginning stages of starting and growing a business/brand. I would suggest looking for someone that can dedicate his/her time fully to your child since you and your mother’s time is limited. If either of you manages your son part-time then you will get part-time results. However, if you (re)invest in someone that can support your son in his endeavor that will help take a lot of the weight from you and your mom. At best, you both can continue the family role by providing both emotional and business support to your son.
Related article: Managing Stress Guide for Mompreneurs During the Pandemic
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Dr. Walter Hidalgo is an educator and coach. He has a master’s of arts in Church History and Sociology from Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University and a doctorate from New York Theological Seminary where his focus was on the intersectionality between Hip-hop culture and socio-spiritual movements. He has taught in universities, high schools, prisons, not-for-profit organizations, and faith-basedinstitutions from all over the world. And finally, he is the author of the critically acclaimed book, “Beyond the Four Walls: The Rising Ministry and Spirituality of Hip-hop” where he
has worked with numerous Hip-hop artists, educators, and youth from all over the world to