Do not transition company to your kids.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Management tips for family-business owners

Every time someone suggests transitioning a business to a family member, John Warrillow, entrepreneur, author, and speaker, bites his tongue. He believes family businesses are wrought with problems. Here are his top seven reasons not to transition your business to your offspring:

What if your son or daughter is smarter than you? The one thing your business cannot give your kids, and the one thing you cannot buy them as a parent, is the self-esteem that comes from knowing they are succeeding on their own.

What if your son or daughter is dumber than you? If your child lacks your smarts, intuition, acumen, etc., he or she will toil forever in your long shadow. Would you want your children to feel inferior for the rest of their lives?

What if your children are lazier than you? Most second- and third-generation family members feel entitled to the fruits of the family business. Do you want to raise spoiled kids and grandkids?

Your offspring may not want to run your business. No matter how successful and profitable your business, your children may not want it. Would you want them to resent you for guilting them into the business down the road?

What if you pass on a jalopy? If nobody...