Family Business
Thinking of starting up a family business? If so then think this through carefully for it doesn't always work out so well. You need to weigh the pros and cons before making such a big decision.
When we started our own family business 6 years ago we were a small scale mobile battery contractor. We had a leaky old van, our oldest son was our driver and he brought with him a large amount of debt from a previous partner.
Life was pretty simple back then. Kenny drove, Jeff did the books and I licked envelopes as well as other lofty office duties. We managed to stay afloat, pay down the debt and worked hard. Looking at the business today some would say we are successful. Kenny is no longer a driver, the leaky van and the debt is long gone. In its place? We have 15 drivers (give or take one or two because employees in this industry aren't known for sticking around) and 11 or 12 vans (I've lost count).
We have a lot of business which is good and everyone gets paid which is also positive. So what's the problem? The problem in a family business is keeping the family and business lines from becoming fuzzy. It's hard to know when talking with each other are we talking as parent to child, child to parent, or officer to officer. Unfortunately, there is spill over between the two relationships which can cause friction at work and at home. It takes a lot of work to be both a parent and an "employer" and not sour either relationship.
Being your own employer means you control your hours, pay and work. Those are definite pluses. Being your own employer also means that you are never really "away" and that when you do manage to get out of Dodge a truckload of paperwork and/or issues awaits your return. Vacations are planned in and around pay dates, which is every two weeks. It's kind of like being a farmer - you may be away - but the cows still have to be milked.
I am proud of our success and we have all worked very hard to get here. When we started out we were trying to provide an income for our son. This many years later we feel the pressure of having so many families looking to us to keep the business going and receive a regular paycheck.
I know that our family business is not alone with some of these issues. I watch Kitchen Nightmares regularly and most of the businesses that Gordon Ramsey try to help are family owned. And they have issues similar to ours. Who's the boss and where's the line?
You can have the American Dream of owning your own company but it's challenging, a lot of work and the buck stops with you, not somebody else further up the food chain. You are the ultimate problem solver.
Some would say that I should revel in our success because so many little family owned businesses don't fare so well. And we have been fortunate - but the bigger the company - the bigger the headaches. Not to mention how many more envelopes there are to close!
This may all sound like sour grapes this morning and maybe it is. I think I'm just tired and cranky today. Thanks for listening.
Happy Friday.
P
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