the person who is fast becoming my mentor here said they try to manage like they parent. I don't think quite in the way you mean but encouraging them to grow and helping that happen but slapping the hand when it's needed.
You HAVE to think like that as a manager. If you don't, you'll fail.
Yes, I absolutely agree with your mentor. And while some of my employees dislike me, many more look up to me as to how I'll take individual time to teach them and help them grow. But we weren't talking about that aspect.
You've just got to be careful to not show any favoritism. It's a running joke that "Ben hates all of his employees equally". But it's got to be that way, ESPECIALLY in your potential case where you'll have just a handful of employees. As soon as there's any kind of assumed favoritism, it's incredibly difficult to dissuade that ideology.
In an ideal world, we'd like to say "Billy got away with it because all of his work was done and he excels at it while you, Susie, just skate by and watch the clock." But as this isn't an ideal world. If Billy is a guy and Susie is a girl, or Billy is white and Susie is black or Billy is straight and Susie is gay or any other factor is looked at, you're suddenly getting reprimanded/fired/sued for discrimination. It sucks, but this is the world we live in.