Many of you may have heard about the various complications of running a family-owned business.
Being the first generation to enter your family business is equally challenging. There’s an unspoken pressure to prove yourself, the stakeholders are watching your every move, and your employees do not accept your leadership yet. Besides, one disagreement and your relationships will never be the same.
All businesses face challenges, but family-owned businesses bring a unique set of added complexities to the business. Let’s talk about how family businesses can grow, scale and diversify while effectively tackling these challenges:
Maintaining the DNA
As the subsequent generations enter the business, changes within the organisation will be inevitable. Customers who are drawn to the personalised service of your family business may find the changes brought on by growth unpleasant. Maintaining the DNA of the business is quintessential to finding and retaining loyal workforce and customers. While it’s natural to undergo changes as the world advances, maintaining the founder’s culture, vision and values are equally important.
Hiring Cautiously
Running a family-owned business means constantly working in a grey area. While increasing your workforce generally helps in expansion, the newcomers also need to have faith in the company's principles and mission in order for this to work, in addition to being able to perform their job duties.
Employing a mix of family and non-family employees will be challenging, especially during the time of promotions and succession. Laying out the rules for hiring and maintaining them throughout can help avoid these conflicts.
Succession Planning
Family businesses go through various stages of growth and development over time. Many of these challenges will be found once the second and subsequent generations enter the business.
A next-gen leader has to manage multiple stakeholders, many of them far more experienced than himself. Succession Planning lays down the groundwork for demarcating the roles and responsibilities, and profit distribution within the family. A well-executed succession planning prevents liquidation, retains the value of the business and retains the promoter’s stake.
Seeking External Counsel: Hiring A Business Coach
A Coach can give you unbiased perspective and formulate a strategy blueprint that works since he understands the business from the outside. A coach challenges your belief system and enables you to exceed your performance, productivity and decision – making compass. Further, coaching helps to develop the insights and abilities required to create collaboration, integration and harmony within family businesses.
Coaches like John Mattone, Saurabh Kaushik , Rahul Jain, etc. are some prominent coaches who are leading the way for helping family and legacy businesses to thrive around the world, in all economies.
