Negosentro | 5 Tips for Running a Family Business in These Critical Times | Family businesses are a long-standing tradition that are popular for many reasons. Many people love the idea of working alongside their family members but may wonder how to make this happen effectively. Running any small business has its challenges, but running one with your family can have unique ones that a regular workplace might not encounter. If you are considering hiring a family member, opening a family company or simply looking to improve your existing one, these tips can help make your venture a more successful one.
1. Keep Things Professional
At work, you and your family members must act like coworkers. This does not mean that you have to ignore the family bond, but you must treat all relatives with the same respect that you would anyone else. You cannot let family status be an excuse for laziness, either. If a family member is not pulling his or her weight, you must try to correct the behavior just as you would with any other worker. You must advise on expected job duties without letting emotions get involved. You need to keep a professional attitude any time you are dealing with other family members in the workplace.
2. Have Common Goals
Know what your end goals for the business are. Decide how you will spend money and how you will invest it. Perhaps you will use a private family banking strategy, or maybe you will hire an outside financial advisor. You should know what direction the business is headed in so that you can make decisions about when to expand the company. You should know how many employees you want to be working for your company, and you should have goals for your yearly profits. There should be open discussion about common goals to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
3. Manage Payroll
Just because you are working with your family members, you must pay them on time. Everyone should know what their hourly rate or salary is. They should be able to count on a paycheck being deposited into the account every pay period. When things get hard in the business, it can be easy to say that you will hold off on paying family members until things get better. However, this can lead to resentment and also backlog you on payroll. You should try to meet your payment obligations for payroll even if it means taking out a personal loan.
4. Have Regular Meetings
No matter what industry you are in, you should have regular staff meetings. This allows any workers to bring up issues that may arise or suggestions about how things could run more smoothly. You can have monthly staff meetings or weekly ones. They do not have to last very long. You should have an agenda for each meeting, though; you do not want them to go on endlessly with no progress being made.
5. Respect Workplace Boundaries
You likely see your family members outside of work, and it is important that you respect workplace time and personal time. Try not to talk about work outside of work. Do not let personal matters cloud your judgement at work. While you are always family, the way you relate to each other will be different in and out of the business.
Loving what you do is a goal to work towards every day. When you are doing something you love alongside the people you love, the rewards can be even better. There are things to consider about owning a family business, though, and it is not a decision that should be made lightly. If you are interested in pursuing this type of venture, it is important that you discuss concerns and expectations with the family that will be involved. When everyone has the same expectations going into a project, it is more likely to be successful. Find your family’s expertise and find out how you can work together to achieve common goals.
Image
