Keeping It In The Family — The Sixth Generation | Pt. 3

In the last two articles, we heard from grown children who have taken over the family business and the parents who handed them the leadership baton. This month, we are going to get the perspective from a teenager who is looking to the future.

A Little Background
Aaron Bagshaw is the fifth-generation owner with his wife, Adria Bagshaw. Aaron and Adria own W.H. Bagshaw in Nashua, New Hampshire, which has been in business since 1870. (That is not a typo — the business has been around for 155 years.) W.H. Bagshaw is still the oldest pin maker in America, and it offers high-precision Swiss-style CNC turned parts.

Aaron and Adria did not assume that their 17-year-old daughter, Maya, would want to take over the business when they were ready to retire. Maya wasn’t the heiress-apparent and they didn’t push her. Even if her parents introduced Maya as the sixth-generation of owners, Maya thought, “Yeah, that’s what they say, but I’ll do something else.”

A Change in Mindset
Maya and I spoke at PMPA’s Annual Meeting 2024 in Dana Point, California.

Carli Kistler-Miller: You were thinking about doing something else. What was the “something else?”

Maya Bagshaw: When I was in middle school, I really wanted to be a teacher. I love babysitting and working with little kids, so being a teacher seemed like a good fit. And then I wanted to own a bakery, or at least own my own business, but then Bagshaw will be my own business, so it’s OK, I realized.

C: What changed your mind about being the sixth-generation owner? 

M: It was this February when we went to PMPA’s Management Update in Austin, Texas. My parents were introducing me as the sixth generation, the next CEO, and I got excited. I think I realized how many friends, opportunities, resources and experiences my parents have because of Bagshaw, and I love it. I wrote my college essay about my favorite smell — which is metal and oil — and I talk about growing up in the shop. And I realized, after seeing more of the business and starting to help my parents, that it was really interesting. I love walking around the shop with my parents and talking to everyone. It’s my favorite thing and I love working in the shop. Then I kept going to the PMPA conferences and meeting new people and it was really exciting. Hopefully, I get there.

C: What do you mean by “Hopefully, I get there?”

M: I can’t just assume that just because I’m their daughter that I will be the boss one day. I have to make sure that I take all the steps it takes to get there so that I can be the good leader that my parents are before I can take over. I’m looking at colleges and plan to major in business administration and I may minor in marketing. I have so much to learn, but I’m excited.