Three Important Things For Family Business Owners to Remember

Running a family business isn't for the faint of heart.  Some people think that working with family members will be much easier than working with strangers, but in reality the opposite is true.  Business managers like Charlie Bouri could talk endlessly about the ins and outs of working with your family.  If you're at the end of your rope with your family business and family members, try to keep these management tips in mind.

Don't View Your Family Members as Clones

This tip is extremely important for family business founders to remember.  Your management style is unique to you, and if you hand over control of the company to somebody else they're going to start doing things their way.  Some family business owners expect the newest generation of family members/workers to never change a thing about their business, and many balk at the idea of seeing their family members deviate from their original business plan. The family member that takes over the business is most likely full of ideas on how to keep it running and successful. Keep in mind that you stepped down so somebody else can run your company, and now it's time to step aside and let it happen. 

Let Your Family Know They Have a Choice

It can be easy to feel like you have your professional life mapped out when your family owns a business.  Some people feel like they're forced to work "in the family" and see no other alternatives.  You wouldn't want any of your loved ones to feel trapped in a career they aren't happy with, so you should make a point to let your family members know that they don't have to work for you.  Let them know that you're happy to have the onboard, but that they shouldn't feel pressured to work in the family's business.

Speak Up

We just talked about how some family members can feel pressured to work in the family business, but the family business owners have their own unique pressure problems.  Some business owners feel like they have to avoid actively critiquing their family member's work because they don't want to hurt anybody's feelings.  If you choose to not tell them when they're doing something wrong they won't know that they're anything wrong.  You need to remember that when you're at work you're their boss and that they need direction from you.