Confessions of a Gen-Nexter: Being the Boss's Kid

Kate Groshong, class of 2008

by Kate Groshong, Brand Specialist, North Star Marketing

Growing up, I was constantly surrounded by business owners and high-ranking corporate executives. Fortunately I didn’t have to call them sir or ma’am but rather mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and so on. Growing up in an entrepreneurial family definitely has its advantages, but also presents challenges to the next generation that the “kids” typically don’t think they have to deal with. The first big question being “What do I do?”

I followed in my uncle’s footsteps by attending Elizabethtown College and thrived in their Business Department. Majoring in Business Administration and concentrating in Marketing and Entrepreneurship was a perfect fit for me, and I was able to learn about industries outside those that my family conducted business in, and markets outside the tri-state area where my mother and father primarily held business deals.

After graduation I entered a job market that was extremely less than ideal and settled for a sales job, for which I had minimal interest, in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Why didn’t I just work for mom or dad, you ask? I wasn’t allowed. One of the greatest things my parents did for me was not provide me with a job opening.

After toughing out the financial sales industry for 14 months I decided it was time to move on. My mother had asked me a few times to consider joining her marketing company, as they were restructuring and she had a need for my expertise. After declining on two different occasions I took a leap of faith and accepted the third. I didn’t jump at the first, or even second, opportunity because I wasn’t sure I was ready to take on the responsibilities of joining a family member in business.

Working with family takes a certain, or different, kind of love and patience. It takes the ability to be able to call mom “Kae” during the hours of 8 and 6 and then smoothly transitioning to “Momma” in our off hours. It takes restraint to keep personal and family situations outside our building parameters and keep work issues away from family lunches and dinners. It also takes a tougher and thicker skin to understand why colleagues would be wary of your entrance and somewhat cynical about your abilities.

Being the “boss’s kid” has its challenges for sure, but there is no one I would rather call report to every day than my mom.

Kate Groshong is a 2008 alumna of Elizabethtown College. Expect to see more of Kate's "Confessions of a Gen-Nexter" posts on High Ground.