Being a family operation can have huge advantages. Do it right and you create a powerful, agile, successful business.
According to the Institute of Family Businesses, two-thirds of UK firms are family owned – three million – generating more than a quarter of British GDP. Aside from a ready supply of labour, there’s built-in loyalty and camaraderie in a family firm, and perhaps a commitment beyond payslips and Friday drinks.
360-degree support
Mica May runs national plumbing firm Stopcocks with her partner of nearly 20 years, Hattie Hasan. She says: “Working with a partner or family member means that both parties fully understand the company. Having someone around outside of work to bounce ideas off can be great.”
Organising holidays and time off together, however, can be tricky when you’re the main people running the show, says May. So an attention to work-life balance is crucial.
“When you’re working on the same project it’s easy to forget to stop. Our work is really interesting and we find ourselves talking about it when we’re walking the dog. If one of us wakes up with a work-related idea, we just discuss it there and then, so we’re even working in bed.”
Sometimes it happens by accident. Hana Dickinson, who runs The Bridge Marketing in Suffolk, says: “I never intended to create a family business.” She employs her father, a seasoned marketing professional, and mother, a sales professional.
She says: “I wouldn’t have brought them into the business if they couldn’t bring additional skills and expertise.”
The biggest advantage of working with her parents, says Dickinson, is the 360-degree support. “We all want what’s best for our clients and each other.
“It’s the best way I’ve seen of creating a really balanced company culture. We know we all have commitments outside work. We know when each of us is struggling and we leap in to help – whether that’s working late to pitch in on a project, helping out with childminding, coming along to a tricky meeting or opening a bottle of wine.”
Their account manager, who is no relation, now benefits from the same 360-degree support network, “in return for working in a slightly unusual set-up”.
Unfettered growth
Husband and wife Bernard and Sue Bailey and their 20-year-old son Aaron all work at Easy Access Self Storage in Greater Manchester.
Bernard is managing director and does the day-to-day running of the company, Sue works part-time at the office and from home, also caring for their five children. Aaron works on marketing and customer service.
“Bernard and I work well together because we have the same passion and drive to make a success of it,” says Sue.
Aaron has inherited the same enthusiasm and this is in part due to having grown up in the family firm: “He always loved coming to work as a child, and from the age of 19 has worked with us full-time.”
Sue grew up in a family business. “I used to think it wasn’t a good thing. The only topic of conversation around the dinner table was business and I really didn’t want to repeat this within my own family.” To that end, the family avoids talking shop at mealtimes.
One huge advantage of keeping it in the family, says Sue, is that growth isn’t hindered. “We certainly don’t have to report to a board and sit back and wait for their steer,” she says.
“We really do just talk about things among ourselves – staff included – and make the best decision we can at the time. We can listen to our customers and their individual needs and respond quickly and accordingly.
“When we don’t have the right off-the-shelf storage solution for a customer, we can just go ahead and create one. We built a bespoke showroom for a kitchen customer on one of our sites recently. The big guys couldn’t do that as quickly and easily.”
A family business is also typically more investment-focused than investor-focused so can feel more secure. Sue agrees: “We know that we will definitely be there for the future journey and expansion of the business.”
There’s always the danger that outsiders won’t fit in. While Sue says this isn’t an issue at Easy Access, she admits: “It must be tricky for staff members sometimes knowing that I’m not full-time. I come in, stir everything up to make changes for the future and then I leave them to do all the hard work putting my ideas into practice.”
How to make it work
- Take advantage of the ability to make decisions fast
- Build on your ability to respond to clients quickly
- Take advantage of the broader support on offer
- But always ensure an effective work-life balance
Content on this page is paid for and provided by Hiscox, sponsor of the Adventures in Business hub on the Guardian Small Business Network.
