In this Bonus episode of The Art of Succession podcast, host Barrett Young interviews Jonathan and Renee Harris, who discovered that their family business's greatest value wasn't in transferring ownership—it was in training their nine children to become entrepreneurs.
The Midlife Pivot That Changed Everything
When Jonathan left his corporate career in 2009, he and Renee made a radical decision. Instead of building a business empire to pass down, they would use their small skincare company as a training ground to develop their children's entrepreneurial skills. What started as a simple farmers market venture selling lotion bars became an unexpected laboratory for raising self-reliant, business-minded kids.
From Minecraft to Marketable Skills
The Harris family developed a unique approach to parenting that merged their children's natural interests with real business applications. When their son spent hours playing Minecraft, they challenged him to bring value to that community by writing plugins—a gateway that eventually led to his career as a lead software developer. Their daughter's love for photography became product photography for the business, while another child's interest in voice acting evolved into podcast editing services.
Building Independence, Not Dependence
Rather than creating jobs for their children within the family business, Jonathan and Renee focused on developing transferable skills that would serve their kids regardless of their chosen path. They established clear standards, charged rent to adult children still living at home, and required each child to find ways to bring value to others through their talents. The result? Nine young adults who understand money, respect customers, and aren't afraid to take calculated risks.
Listeners can learn more about Jonathan and Renee by visiting their websites at parenttheirpassion.com for entrepreneurial parenting resources and hardlotion.com for their original skincare business. If you've got a question for Jonathan, he invites you to shoot him an email.
If you need to break this 98 minute episode into three parts, you can find those
and Here (pt3)
