Keeping it in the Family – How to Help a Family Business Succeed
Accountants in Birmingham – Family Business Advice
All businesses have a life span, and all move from their inception through various phases until they either end or are converted into different entities entirely.
For most business owners, their relationship with their business will also have a natural duration, from the time that they acquire or start the business to the time that they close or sell it, but for a family run firm there is often something else going on that puts a whole new spin on things. Sometimes the business has been handed down through many generations, from parent to child perhaps, and often the expectation is that this legacy continue in the same vein for further generations to come; because of this emotions often run higher in a family run business than they ordinarily would, as far more than simple time and money is invested in the venture’s success.
To add to the emotional mix, we quite often see family members working along side each other, day in and day out, spending their entire working lives in very close proximity to their nearest and dearest; this, of course is sometimes the strength of family run firms, but it can also be a volatile cocktail.
However hard it may be, it is therefore, quite sensible to attempt to emphasise the ‘business’ part of the family business and try for a more professional work environment.
There are a few things that can be very effective when endeavouring to run your family business with less domesticity:
Work/Home Divide
Even business owners who don’t work with their families can have trouble with this one, but, if you are employing relatives or working alongside a partner or child, having a time and place for domestic matters and a separate one for professional can be a life saver. No matter how easy it is to carry on the row from breakfast during your working day, it is incredibly important to save it for after your working hours, and conversely don’t expect to sit around the dinner table and have an informal staff meeting, a family life that is kept just that will provide a refuge from the stresses of work.
Formalise It
Just because your manager is your sister or your payroll clerk is your cousin, it does not mean that they should be working without the protection and benefits that other staff usually enjoy. Having contracts in place will give you all a professional document to act as an inanimate intermediary should problems arise.
Outside Assistance
Although it is tempting for many reasons to staff every role in a family business using family members, it can be a useful tool to employ specialist help for roles requiring particular know-how; not only will it mean that you don’t end-up with an unqualified relative struggling with a job that they are not fit for, but it will also bring in non-family members to redress any bias the business could be suffering from.
There is obviously a certain strength in family firms that allows so many to thrive for generations, but this type of working is not for everyone and for every family business success story, there is a tale of the child who went his own way and upset the apple cart. It is therefore worth remembering that just because Grandma made the firm a success does not mean you automatically can; just as with any other business, the family business will only succeed with plenty of hard work.
