Crucial Pieces of Advice for Every Family Business Owner

What do Comcast, Wal-Mart, Koch Industries, and Ford all have in common?  Aside from all being billion dollar companies, they’re also all family-owned companies.  When most people think about family-owned businesses, they think about small mom and pop operations that rarely grow beyond their one store.  However, family-owned businesses aren’t just rewarding, they can also be extremely profitable.

Seament is a multi-national cement business, but it’s also owned by the Bouri family.  The Bouris are one of many successful business oriented families, and with enough drive and knowledge you could turn your small family business into something huge.  Running a family-owned business is similar to owning a regular business in some respects, and completely different in others.  Family politics can make things a little more difficult, and that’s why the owners of family businesses need to work hard to grow.  If you want to grow your small family business, make sure that you keep these bits of advice in mind.

Let family members work willingly

You may have a picture in your mind of every family member working happily side by side, but some members of your family most likely don’t share your vision.  Some family business owners make the mistake of pressuring other family members to work for their company, and their decision only results in an unhappy and resentful employee.  Don’t pressure your family members into joining your business, and on the flip side also don’t allow them to pressure you into getting a job.

Leave family problems at home

Did you have a fight with your wife/book keeper before work this morning?  Have you been arguing with your son over his grades?  If you’re having disputes at home, don’t make the mistake of bringing them to work.  If you can maintain a separation of your business matters and your family matters, you’ll be able to run a successful family owned business.  Drawing the line between business and family matters is important but it can be difficult to master.  Let every related employee know that you plan on not bringing up personal problems at work, and that you expect them to do the same.

Remember the legal aspects of owning a business

Contracts, over-time hours, and other legal business problems can seem boring and troublesome, but they’re absolutely needed if you want to keep your assets and family members safe.  Drawing up a written agreement with your family members/employees is important since it can help protect you, your business, and even your employees in case you run into any trouble down the road.  Remember that having your family members sign contracts and make legal agreements about their employment doesn’t mean that there’s a lack of trust between you and your family – it simply means that you’re handling your business in a professional manner.