Travis Klassen was a 25-year-old high school dropout working for his familyâs Canadian trucking company, Valley Carriers, when he started studying business leadership and realized how little he knew about the family business. How was the company structured? What were its financials like? Was the company making enough money to provide jobs for him, his brother and his cousins that would support them as their families grew?
He decided it was a time for a family business meeting. So he called his father, his uncles, his brother and his cousins â the company was not yet using email for communication â and made his case. âFinally we got agreement that we could do it, as long as it was done after work,â Travis says. âIt was very important to our uncles that none of us were getting paid to attend this meeting.â