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Describe a family business you know about

IELTS Cue Card Question 104 With Model Answer:

Describe a family business you know about.

You should say:
  • what kind of business it is
  • how you first heard of this business
  • what the family does for this business
and say why you think it is a good family business.  

[You will have to talk about the topic for one to two minutes. You have one minute to think about what you're going to say. You can make some notes to help you if you wish.]

Model Answer 1:
Many of the poor and marginal level people have changed their fortune wheel by business and when they engage their family members, the business grows more for different reasons.

Mr Rafael Sabitano is my neighbour and owns his restaurant which is his family business too. He has owned the business from his father and been continuing with his family members. Mr Sabitano has engaged his brothers to run the restaurant located at a corner of Rue de la Huchette. Though there are lines of restaurants on the street, his restaurant is preferable to many of the tourists and also he proudly owns some regular customers. His restaurant offers different sorts of traditional French cuisine for the clients. Besides, you can have your foods both in and outside of the restaurant. Usually, during the peak hours, Mr Sabitano has a large open space before the restaurant where he has set up a couple of small tables and chairs for the consumers.

We are new to the apartment block and I heard about the restaurant for the first time from my mother when she asked me if I am interested in accepting the invitation of the neighbour living the next door. Since I had no important tasks on the day, I agreed and visited the restaurant. Initially, I thought that the neighbour might have invited us to attend any programme but I realised later that it was the inauguration of his restaurant after renovating from the mid of this year. He has decorated the restaurant beautifully and also has appointed three different chefs for cooking Asian foods. I with the other family members really enjoyed the delicious foods. I have never tasted the Asian foods before due to their spicy nature but they tasted good on the day.

All the members of the family are involved in the restaurant business. As the family head, Mr Sabitano is responsible for the overall maintenance of the business. His immediate younger brother is assigned to collect the bills while his wife looks after the food preparations. The other younger brother is responsible for the daily shopping activities. The food ingredients are collected from the local markets and they never bring the low-quality ingredients. Moreover, the cooking preparation process is neat and clean like the other restaurants in the street. To maintain the restaurant, they are to remain busy almost around the day. The restaurant usually opens at 8.00 am and closes at around the midnight and the family members (except the kids) have to remain busy in line with the waiters to entertain the customers.

To me, it appears that this is a very good family business. Firstly, all the family members are working together which is not found in other cases. The profits are shared equally among the family members. Paris is considered as one of the most expensive cities and the expenses are higher in most of the cases to live in the city. Many of the service holders cannot manage their daily life based on office earning and thereby get engaged in different additional income-generating activities. But the businessmen here do not need to worry. They earn enough to manage themselves. Being a tourist place, the restaurant business is one of the profitable sources of income for the businessmen, legally. With the restaurant, Mr Sabitano’s family is living an honest and solvent life.


If you can talk about the cue card topic "Describe a family business you know about." you should be able to talk about the following IELTS cue card topics as well:

  • Describe a small and successful business you know about.
  • Describe a successful business in your hometown.
  • Describe a type of business that you would like to start in the future.
  • Talk about a family business you know about.
  • Describe a person who is a successful businessman.
  • Talk about a family business you know from your hometown.
  • Describe a business your family or of your relatives’ family own.
  • Describe a business you might start after you finish your education.




Model Answer 2:
Singapore is filled with a huge number of populations and most of the native people are engaged in their family business. I know a man who is taking part in a business of clothing and it was started by his grandfather.

This is a great business and the man now owns a couple of shops in the local shopping malls and street markets. He takes care of the business all by himself and spends a good amount of time to take care of the shops. I like his activity much. He is an industrious person and prospering with the business gradually.

I first came to know about the business when I went shopping at the man’s store. He was a petty businessman. While shopping in his shop at a local shopping mall in the city, I came to know about him and his business. He told me that the business is being operated for a long time and he is the third generation of the business who is now in the lead. He also informed me about the type of business and how has been shouldered the responsibilities. It was the first meeting with the man and now we are very good friends. Besides, we are neighbours as well.

The family started the business a long time ago. The man told me that his grandfather initiated the business during the 1950s and continued for many years before shouldering it to his father. Besides, his father has also continued the business for around 30 years and now this is his turn to move with the business. He collects the dresses from different suppliers and ensures the quality. He stores moderately precious items on the shopping mall and relatively cheaper items are sold on his street shop. Sometimes, if there are any trouble or defects with the dresses, he changes them by his own attempt. He has to go to the suppliers. Besides, he needs to take care of the shops personally and ensures customer satisfaction. As a result, his business is growing.

This is a very good family business. There are some grounds for my thoughts. This is a business that has fewer troubles for the entrepreneurs. Yes, it was hard to make it an established business but now it has become matured and reaping profit for the business owner. Besides, the owner can spend time after his will and there are fewer restrictions. He will shoulder the business to his son someday who will take care of the business by his own way and take necessary steps for further business improvement. So, I believe this is a very good family business.

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