How do I ask my son to take over our family hardware store?
After 35 years building a hardware store from a rented storefront, a husband is ready to retire. Their son Jesse has worked the counter and bookkeeping for eight years and is popular with customers, but hasn’t explicitly said he wants to run the business full time.
Dear Annie: My husband built our family hardware store from a single rented storefront 35 years ago, and he’s finally ready to retire. Our son, “Jesse,” has worked the counter and the books alongside him for the last eight years, and he’s good at it. Customers ask for him by name. The plan was always for him to take over.