It’s a universal desire for a parent to see their child follow in their footsteps.
For this week’s guests, Trevor and Michael Back, this was achieved, but not as you would have expected it to.
Their story didn’t follow the traditional path of a father transitioning his son into the family business.
In fact, the story played out completely differently.
Trevor Back is a former management consultant and real-estate principal. He built his business career on a foundation of client experience excellence. Having recently sold his market-leading Sydney Raine & Horne franchise, Trevor is now in the process of transitioning to retirement and redefining what it is that gives him purpose in life.
His son, Michael Back, is a business consultant and owner of Human to Human – a consultancy business that helps good financial advice businesses become great, one human interaction at a time.
Trevor’s 5-year plan with Raine & Horne was to build a successful business, transition into retirement, and see Michael take over. Michael, however, didn’t want to run the business.
Instead, Michael came in as a consultant to work closely with his father’s business and team. He helped set up the systems and processes to allow the business to thrive, and to make Trevor’s transition into retirement as smooth as possible.
So why didn’t Michael want to take over the business?
The answer is simple: he was drawing on lessons and experiences learned by a life of observing his father at work. Michael had seen Trevor believe in himself and back himself to create his successful career, and Michael wanted to do the same.
“I think by that stage I had accepted the importance of backing yourself, and listening to your gut, and not living someone else’s version of success, but believing in your own.”
Michael may not have followed Trevor’s career trajectory, but he did emulate his father’s instinct and confidence to help for his own path in life.
It may not be in the traditional sense, but Michael did follow in his father’s footsteps.
To hear the full conversation, listen to episode 40 of It’s Never About Money.
Find out more:
> Connect with Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljback/
> Find out more about Human to Human: https://humantohuman.com.au/
