Photo by Jen Light

Quality time with family is so important. When each of my boys reach 10 years old, they know something special will happen. That is when they begin planning a one-on-one trip with me during the summer for 5 to 7 days. This trip is always to accompany me on a business trip to another city or country, sit in each of the business meetings, and get to experience what it is their father does for a living. What’s exciting is this is a trip they get to have every year and always to a different location.

During the day, they sit in every one of my business meetings which gives me an opportunity to see first-hand the relationships that I have and what causes business to progress.  These trips aren’t all work and no play. We are sure to plan experiences that are uniquely important to them and who they are. In the past, my sons have chosen to play golf at a course they’ve always heard about or view a great play in London or NYC, or go to a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston. I try to give them the experience of visiting my favorite restaurants or sites in cities that I often visit as well to share with them my passions, as well.

It is amazing having my boys with me and sharing that time with them. I greatly enjoy sharing with them my passion for the work I do as well as teaching them why I do and say what I do in meetings, how to act professionally and how to present myself. All of these elements are vitally important to success and are applicable no matter what career path they take in life. These are real life moments where I can take the opportunity to teach them important lessons while at the same time watching grow personally and professionally as they develop their own powerful presence.

With sons who are now 24, 21, 12 and 10, I’m looking forward to the trips this summer. Brennan counted down the months until his 10th birthday, as he knew his trip was coming. The tradition will continue with Bryson, our recently 10-year-old, and he’s looking forward to his trip this summer.  The countless memories that have been forged and the experience each of my sons have gained from our family and individual trips, is my way of preparing them for the real life situations that they will experience once they are running their own companies or working in their field of choice. They are developing their leadership skills, world view, and business insights that will be tied to our times together.

The memories for me though are worth more than any trophy or any amount of money that I possess.  Sitting on the plane sometimes by myself reliving in my mind the different trips, deep conversations, the laughter and seeing their eyes light up when they do something they’d only imagined.  Memories… Braden at 11 years old, staying in London at the Lanesborough Hotel, touring history with my son, seeing a play on London’s “Broadway” and walking the streets of London, eating at my favorite Chinese restaurant Hakkasan and talking about the days meetings.  Waking up in the morning on the coast of California with Barrett at 14 years old, driving in the car to our first meeting and talking about our day, seeing him in the crowd as I spoke at an investment banking conference and feeling more pride knowing one of the most important people in the world was watching me, playing golf in the afternoon then feeling so incredible that night as we watched the San Francisco Giants win their first game of the playoffs in the season they won the World Series.  My first trip with Brennan to Puerto Rico where we boarded the plane and I looked to see the amazing smile of happiness, scuba diving with him in crystal blue water and him standing on stage with me as he spoke with such eloquence and price about some of the most incredible people in the world. Memories I’ll cherish for a lifetime!

These trips are designed to expand my son’s horizons and broaden their worldly perspectives, but I find myself constantly learning from my son’s unique vision and dreams. In the end, I may appreciate these trips even more than my sons do. I cannot wait for our next trip together.

The post How Business Trips Will Teach Quality in Work and the Power of Relationships appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.

I previously have written about creating meaningful traditions that last, and how in our family, one way to do this is with the special “Red Plate” that symbolizes a special event or achievement from one of us in our home. It can be a birthday, a graduation, special sporting event or accomplishment, or it could even be the day of a doctor’s appointment, but whomever comes to the kitchen table in the morning and sees the Red Plate at where they sit, they know they are going to be celebrated. Every one of us – my four sons, my wife Shawntel, and I – all look forward to seeing the Red Plate.

Our family has another way of creating meaningful traditions.  Another major event happens when our boys reach their 10th birthday, when they have the opportunity to accompany me to a meeting with my stockbroker, and learn what the stock market is and how it works. And on that special day I place $1,000 into their stock account, and my boys have 100% control what happens to it – I let them manage it as they see fit, as long as they keep the money in the stock trading account. They are in charge of choosing the stocks, researching the companies, which I’ve found provides an invaluable lesson in beginning to understand financial management and develop skills that will serve them well throughout their lives.

My son Brennan made his first stock picks when he turned 10 years old this past July: Facebook, Apple and Amazon. Only 7 months after he picked his first stocks for his account, he’s seen a 21% gain in his portfolio.  I’ll never forget taking his older brother Braden (who is now 22 years old) to open up his stock trading account when was 10 years old.  He sat with my broker wearing a blue sport coat and so eager about what he was getting to do.  Braden bought Coca Cola because it was his favorite drink, McDonalds because it was his favorite restaurant, Best Buy because he thought it was the coolest store, AOL because he loved the internet and Gateway because it was his computer. In his first two years Braden had a 38% return in his portfolio! That included a 6.7% return in his first several months, and his brother Brennan is even showing some of the same return results.

What does this show? That in investing, as in so many other areas of life, it’s good to go with what you know and like! I remember my brokers telling the boys not to think of the stock market as charts, graphs or newspaper headlines but rather think of it as way to buy a part of the companies you think are great and that you think will be great for a long time, the Warren Buffet philosophy. The boys were instructed to take two weeks and ask me what companies that they liked were public or private. It was after two weeks that they were to buy companies they like, buy what their friends like, and what they and their friends would like for a long time. None of those things took a computer program to analyze.

This tradition of investing has imparted so much wisdom to my boys, like lessons in money management and sound investment principles. It’s also a good way to impart the values of saving as well has learning how money can be put to work for work, as opposed to spending money on things that don’t provide a valuable return.

The post Family Traditions: Stock Options and Money Management appeared first on Ryan Wuerch.