Giving up on dreams to run family’s million-dollar business

A reader’s story on how his uncle, who owned a prosperous travel bus service company, had to sell his business since none of his three children were willing to succeed him has prompted discussions on the topic.

Reader Tien Hung Nguyen:

"I have a friend who is running two family businesses worth hundreds of billions of dong. However, his dream is to travel and experience the world, and to be a vlogger. After graduating, he told me that he felt he did not have the right to pursue his dreams.

I was lucky that right after graduating from university, I firmly refused to run my family’s business and pursued my own dreams. I told my parents that our family business was meant to sustain us until my sibling and I were fully grown, and that it has completed its mission."

Reader Ha Anh Vu:

"Billionaires can always find someone to operate their large firms and their children just need to hold the shares to receive dividends or sell them for cash. Meanwhile, small family businesses usually disappear if children do not take over from their parents.

The company I am working for has been around for over 170 years and is still owned and run by the descendants of the founder. It is a leading firm in its industry, so I will not say that the mindset of having children inherit family businesses is outdated."

Reader Tu Gia:

"Many Vietnamese want to work hard to support their children’s education but then complain that their children do not want to continue the family business. For example, some traders at a wet market I often go to have been complaining that they might close their stores because there is no one to take over. But why would their children, who pursued higher education, choose to sit in a market stall to sell goods?

Parents who invest in their children’s education should not hope that they will study just to continue the family legacy."

What are your thoughts on this topic?

*This opinion was translated into English with the assistance of AI. Readers’ views are personal and do not necessarily match VnExpress’ viewpoints.