Bill Belew has raised 2 bi-cultural kids, now 34 and 30. And he and his wife are now parenting a 3rd, Mia, who is 8.

Business Dads

Business dads are inspirational dads who have been chasing their dreams all their lives and work hard to make these dreams come true in the real sense.  The are role models for their kids who proudly brag about how brilliant their dad is and show off to their friends on their line of work and their success stories. These dads are risk takers who have taken calculated gambles in order to succeed in the future and utilize their interests,  passion and skills into one great money making venture.  These dads spend majority of the time working and have little time to spare their families and friends.  Their heart soul and mind is into the work that they perform and work for them is worship.  They usually spend a lot of time abroad or on travel cutting business deals and are often seen with their mobile phones and are constantly on the go in order to attend meetings and have in person discussions and brain storming sessions.  Business dads usually have a sense of balance and do not assume things because they need to have a tremendous eye for detail, perfection and analysis.

Having been brought in an entrepreneurial family was a real treat. Having watched my dad go through the bureaucratic hoops posed by the system in my country in getting start up capital for his investment idea from the biggest industrial development bank in the country was indeed an learning experience from a personality shaping perspective.  It was a tremendously refreshing experience for me, as I saw first hand my dad executing and putting his heart at work though many sleepless nights spent in getting everything arranged. His business was extremely tough of its kind, as there was lot of worker’s problems involved in the industrial manufacturing process, for which  he had to also manage laborers on his factory which was a always a strenuous task.  The landscape business in India is generally difficult because there are lots of systemic deficiencies that one has to overcome.

Being organized is the first thing that every entrepreneurial dad must keep in sight, as without a proper execution and strategy plan,  being able to foresee different circumstances becomes impossible.  This lack of planning  might create a wall of uncertainty through which many unknown risks can seep in and disrupt your plans.  Having spent enough time during the initial set up phase my dad was able to manage launching his business. It was an  immensely gratifying experience for my dad because he had to contend with so many unexpected factors.  My dad had to go endure  horrifying  experiences from time to time in order to get things done and being at the center of all this action as it unfolded and I realized how hard it was to chase your dreams and how all the moving parts needed to be carefully coordinated.  My dad as an entrepreneur also got lot of love and support from my mother who was a pillar of support in this entire process.

Also on the client side of the business my dad had to deal with many unforeseen situations as dealing and negotiating for government orders is extremely tough.   There were very tough timelines and managing your vendors, clients and your internal team culture in the company was a challenging task and personally for me a tremendously enriching experience.  The government officials  used to visit the factory to ensure that all the operations are being executed within the parameters of quality and completeness and that target deadlines are being sufficiently met for the release of payments and past dues being cleared.

Talk to Bill and others about their experiences raising bi-cultural Japanese-American kids.