It's Time to Think in 100-Year Horizons
- Casey Ariel Thobias
- Jul 22
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 23
We revere companies that have lasted centuries —
Jim Beam (since 1795)
Colgate (since 1806)
Brooks Brothers (since 1818)
Boar’s Head (since 1905)
Procter & Gamble (since 1837)
Johnson & Johnson (since 1886)
But rarely do we dare to imagine our own dreams stretching 100 years ahead.
Oftentimes, we chase contracts and buyouts from multi-generational companies without considering:
Can't I build my own?
Can't I create something that grants my great-great-grandchildren cash flows?
Can't I build a system strong enough to hold us — not just now, but for generations to come?
What are we afraid of?
Empty Lies We've Been Fed
While at ESSENCE Fest this summer, a brilliant founder told me, “My friend says she’ll never hire anyone who hasn’t worked in corporate. It’s the only place to get the proper training.”
I paused.
And I asked — why is that?
Why do we believe that our children, cousins, nieces, and nephews 'must be" exported and trained by external institutions to grow worthy of working inside our family’s vision?
Why is industry “mastery” something we believe should be outsourced — instead of lovingly cultivating it in-house?
When we say we won’t train our people, we’re also saying:
“I don’t trust that we can cultivate competitive leaders.”
“I don’t trust myself to be a teacher.”
“I don’t believe my business deserves to be inherited by competent family members.”
This isn't an innate belief system — it's one we've been fed and have adopted.
Apprenticeship is a Birthright
We are not the first generation to want more. We are, however, one of the first in recent history to abandon apprenticeship.
The old systems knew better:
You trained in a craft.
You started at the base of the company.
You learned by doing.
You were molded by masters.
It’s time we return.
Just imagine...
A 6-year-old shadowing their auntie at the storefront.
A 13-year-old learning QuickBooks on a Friday afternoon.
A 17-year-old mastering plumbing or welding alongside their uncle.
A 21-year-old stepping into a family board meeting — not as a guest, but as a future CEO in training.
This is Black and Brown continuity, legacy, and power.
Black and Brown nepotism is not a dirty word, it is a duty that we hold.
The Power of Black and Brown Nepotism
In a world obsessed with followers, we need to refocus on relationships.
When the algorithm changes, your reach disappears.
But when your cousin knows how to run the back office?
When your daughter understands vendor strategy?
When your godson can pitch the business in his sleep?
No one can take that away.
Black and Brown nepotism will never be about cutting corners.
On the contrary, it's about circling back.
Back to the people who carried you.
To the communities that fed you.
If our wills, trusts, and succession plans don’t include instructions on how to maintain and scale the business — we’re leaving our children to start from scratch with every new generation. There is no strategy or wealth building in that.
We need:
Clear roles that are outlined and well articulated
Skillset pathways that show the credentials to be garnered
On-ramps into leadership through well-structured frameworks
Exposure to decision-making through hands-on experience
We need to grow our family’s confidence alongside our company’s cash flow.
A Wake-Up Call
After ESSENCE Fest, I drove to South Carolina to see my family. My niece, just days from turning six, told everyone we saw:
“My Auntie Casey is an entrepreneur. She owns her own business!”
It was simple.
It was clear.
It was identity.
It was belief.
It was family pride.
That’s what we need more of: Children who see it before society tries to train it out of them.
Children who believe that owning something — not just working for something — is their birthright.
There is nothing revolutionary about perpetually sending our brightest minds into systems that extract their labor and discard their spirit. We must make room at home.
The Boardroom Starts at Home
Every Sunday, your dining room can become the boardroom.
Let your kids hear how the money flows.
Let them see how decisions are made.
Let them ask the “why” behind your pricing, your product line, your partnerships.
Even if they don’t “get it” yet — they’re absorbing it.
They’re remembering it.
They’re becoming it.
This is how we normalize ownership.
This is how we stop the madness of every generation “starting from scratch.”
This is how we inoculate our families from systems that merely desire labor, not legacy.
Return to What’s Ours
So here’s my plea:
Bring apprenticeships back.
Value Black and Brown nepotism.
Create systems that last for 100 years.
Stop waiting for validation from outsiders.
Start molding the insiders you already love.
Let’s be the generation that holds on to what we pick up and passes it onward. Let's leave instructions behind...
... and love.
... and a company that is still standing in 2125. :)
We are because they were. They will be because we chose to stay.
—
Inspired by my conversations and experiences at ESSENCE Fest 2025.
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