Growing up in the business motivated Aaron to build on what his father started 30 years ago. Since assuming leadership of Organika, in partnership with his brother Jordan, they have increased business seven-fold and have grown the company into an award-winning, globally recognized brand, focusing on innovation and a vibrant company culture.

Standout Quotes:

• "You start with the mission of the company and that'll help drive your decisions after". - [Aaron]
• "If you can tweak one little thing in your process that could save you 30minutes...do it". - [Aaron]
• "You are going to determine yourself, how well you do". - [Aaron]
• "I really do believe there's nothing like good old hard work". - [Aaron]
• "My relationship with my brother is bigger than the business... I think I can pass that down to my kids" - [Aaron]

Key Takeaways:

• Aaron's dad had the dream when he moved from Malaysia to Canada to give his kids a chance to get ice cream whenever they wanted.
• Following the treatment of his kidney stones using natural products, he started the business with a vision to make healthcare accessible for all.
• Despite the rejection, his father persistently put himself and his products out there, till the business took off.
• Aaron shares he always had an interest in the family business although his father never tried to impose any expectations to join.
• Aaron narrates a simple experience where he noticed the boss employed by his father to manage the business got to the office one morning, and deleted all his office voicemails without listening to any one, inciting Aaron's suspicion of the poor management inherent in the business.
• Realizing the diet differences between the newer and older generation, the company pivoted from mostly vitamin pills to be more involved in superfoods, powders, drink mixes.
• The surprising eventuality of Aaron becoming CEO in an Asian family where he is the younger brother and always at odds with his older brother, was partly made possible by the family dynamic which started to work out following certain events that strengthened the bond between them.
• Aaron shares his vision for the company: I want to see us in every single home in Canada.
• Explaining that his dad wasn't overprotective but rather allowed them to make mistakes, and these mistakes helped them learn how to make fast and efficient decisions.
• The question: What are you doing about it?
• If you teach children what wealth means, it's rather thoughtful to leave wealth for them, but if not then it's just an expectation, and things could go wrong.
• To Aaron's kids: Know the importance of Family because it is more important than even the business

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] Meet today's guest "Aaron Chin".
• [01:25] Where did the family business begin, and how do you become involved in this story?
• [07:40] About Aaron's entry into the business: Was it always an expectation or some other circumstance?
• [16:09] Describing the business today.
• [19:55] How did the leadership transition come about?
• [24:40] Being the younger brother in an Asian family, how did you arrive at the CEO role?
• [27:15] What sort of investment process did you go through, and how did you formalize the business?
• [33:33] Would you say the company culture remains unchanged or has it morphed as a result of the impact of Private Equity coming in?
• [37:45] Aaron shares major lessons learned by trying things and making mistakes at the beginning
• [38:50] Is there a multi-generational plan to continue the legacy that your father started?
• [41:03] How do you feel about children inheriting wealth?
• [42:39] Aaron's letter to his kids.

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Aaron Chin.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Organika — Aaron Chin is a second-generation business leader and CEO of Organika which is a family-led Canadian company dedicated to providing innovative, premium health products to help inspire people to live healthier lives.
• Aaron Chin (@organikaaron) Instagram

Her maternal grandfather, veterinarian Dr. William Ballard, was one of North America’s greatest dynamic wealth creators. Her father, Frank A. Griffiths, FCA, built a highly successful sports and media empire. Emily herself, along with her brother Arthur and their partners, has been the co-owner of a National Hockey League (NHL) team, the Vancouver Canucks; a National Basketball Association (NBA) franchise, the Vancouver Grizzlies; and a state-of-the-art-arena.

Emily’s professional training, expertise and unique first-hand experience have given her a deep understanding of the benefits of clear, considered wealth and family-business transition planning.

Today, she is passionate about providing guidance to individuals and families for the effective multigenerational management of family wealth and family businesses.

Emily is the author of two excellent books, Build Your Family Bank and Your Business, Your Family, Their Future, which look closely at the core causes of wealth erosion and failed transition plans and offers a set of strategies for building successful wealth transition plans that will benefit many generations.

Standout Quotes:

• "A legacy lifestyle to me is really anything where anyone is enjoying an affluent life based on someone else's earnings"
• "Earning a voice at the table is critically important as the families get larger because not everybody is necessarily around the table making decisions for the family bank but the family council may be elected members to represent different parts of the families"
• "Life is the reflection of the Choices that you make between your Birth and your Death (life is the C between the B and the D)"
• "The choices that you make are going to be a reflection of the decisions that you make, and if you really want to make the best decisions, think about swapping judgment for curiosity"
• “Curiosity can open your eyes to a world of unlimited imagination and infinite possibilities”

Key Takeaways:

• The process of creating the family wealth was infused into the family DNA added in each generation.
• The issue in a legacy lifestyle is enjoying a lifestyle that someone else is earning the funds to afford you, the cautionary note is to watch for the creep of entitlement issues.
• The traditional approach to wealth transition planning including tax deferment and trust funds fail 70% of the time.
• As long as your human and intellectual components are still strong, the Family bank will keep standing.
• Reasons why 70% of families at each generation fail at wealth transition include a breakdown of communication and trust (60%), the unpreparedness of heirs (25%), lack of shared vision (12%), and failure of professionals (3%).
• Earning a voice at the table is critically important as the families get larger.
• Family bank is not a legal term, it's a philosophical term; it's whatever the family defines it to be.
• 5 reasons to put a Trust in place in Canada: Control, Creditor Protection, Privacy, Probate and Tax.
• Research shows that within 7 years lottery winnings are usually gone which is the same with inheritances.
• If you want to make the best decisions, swap judgment for curiosity

Episode Timeline:

• [00:49] An overview of some of Emily's work.
• [02:20] How the initial family wealth was created and sustained through the different generations as part of the family DNA.
• [05:20] Emily explains the clear distinction between Ownership and Management.
• [05:31] Her contribution to the Family DNA of wealth creation is the Role of Stewardship.
• [08:26] The event leading up to the ownership of the Hockey team reflected a sense of commitment to the community.
• [10:30] Emily narrates the experiences that inspired her career choice of a Family Enterprise Adviser.
• [15:35] The legacy lifestyle defined, with examples from Emily's childhood.
• [19:26] The value of work and its role in Family wealth creation.
• [21:11] The concept of a Family Bank is most appropriate for anyone doing succession or wealth transition planning.
• [22:05] The Foundation and Components of the Family bank approach.
• [27:04] Reasons why 70% of families at each generation fail at wealth transitions.
• [39:00] The value and role of tools like trust structures and tax mitigation strategies in the managing multi-generational wealth.
• [45:07] The similarities between inheritances and lottery wins.
• [53:52] Re-Formatting is a change of investment choice and a Redistribution of wealth to philanthropy are not considered a failure of to transition.
• [55:29] A few surprises from her sons influencing the family bank.
• [01:01:14] Emily's letter to her children.

For more episodes go to
BusinessOfFamily.net

Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter at https://www.businessoffamily.net/newsletter

Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd

If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes, I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!

Special Guest: Emily Griffiths-Hamilton.

Sponsored By:

• The Business of Family Newsletter: The newsletter compliments the podcast with subscriber-only articles, bonus content and a great list of book recommendations.

Links:

• Build Your Family Bank | A Winning Vision for Multigenerational Wealth — Fresh & Accessible Guides to Successful Wealth Transition
• Volunteer Role | The Nature Trust of British Columbia — The Nature Trust of British Columbia took on the daunting task of protecting the natural riches of the province by building a treasury of wild natural areas to conserve iconic and important species at risk.
• Book: Your Business, Your Family, Their Future: How to Ensure Your Family Enterprise Thrives for Generations eBook: Griffiths-Hamilton, Emily — Through extensive research and personal and professional experience as a member of and advisor to family enterprises, Griffiths-Hamilton has developed an unconventional approach that looks beyond narrow business considerations to focus on the critical aspect of every family enterprise—the “family factor.”
• Book: Build Your Family Bank: A Winning Vision for Multigenerational Wealth eBook: Griffiths-Hamilton, Emily — Why do 70 percent of wealth transition plans fail? This is the question that Emily Griffiths-Hamilton sets out to answer in Build Your Family Bank, a book that looks closely at the core causes of wealth erosion and failed transition plans and offers a set of strategies for building successful wealth transition plans that will benefit many generations.