I spent eight years saving our failing family business, but my parents left the company to my spoiled brother. “He’ll make a better owner than you.”
So I quit and watched from the sidelines as our business collapsed, refusing to help. Full story plus all updates.
I never wanted to join the family business. After graduating from college with honors in financial management, my dreams were set on making my own mark in the corporate world. Several prestigious companies had already shown interest in my resume, and I was excited about building my career from scratch.
But life had other plans. My name is Alice Chen, and I was always the responsible one, while my older brother Tommy was the golden child who could do no wrong. He got the newest gadgets.
The fanciest clothes. And, most importantly, our parents’ undivided attention. I learned early on to be self-sufficient, throwing myself into studies and working part-time at our company during summers to earn my own money.
Chen Global Trading had been in our family for three generations. My great-grandfather started it with just shipping containers of electronics from Taiwan. By the time my father took over, it had grown into a respectable midsized company handling imports from all across Asia.
I knew the business inside and out from my summer jobs, but I never thought I’d end up running it. That was supposed to be Tommy’s destiny. “Alice, we need to talk,” my father said one evening, his voice unusually serious.
I had just finished telling him about a promising interview with Goldman Sachs over dinner at his office. “What’s wrong, Dad?”
He gestured for me to sit down, his face lined with worry. “The company… it’s not doing well.
We’re losing money faster than ever before.”
I felt my stomach tighten. “I thought Tommy was learning the ropes. You always said he’d take over.”
Dad’s face flushed with embarrassment.
“Your brother… he’s not ready. Yesterday he expense reported a $5,000 dinner with clients at that new French restaurant. When I asked him about the business discussed, he couldn’t remember a single detail.”
“And what does this have to do with me?” I asked, although I was beginning to see where this was going.
“I need you to take over as CEO,” he said simply. “You’re smart, responsible, and you know the business. The company needs you, Alice.”
I sat there stunned.
The story doesn’t end here –
it continues on the next page.
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