Family owned small business

Several successful businesses are started as family-owned businesses. A family-owned business is a great way to pass on a secure living from generation to generation, however this often does not happen. For most entrepreneurs, their family-owned business will die with them or it will be sold before they can pass it along to their children or grandchildren. There are pros and cons to family-owned businesses.

For some families, it teaches the children how to work hard and learn necessary skills to use in the workforce someday. For other families, it can cause contention and squabbles, causing family members to hold grudges against one another for years. In order to run a successful family business, it is important to keep a few things in mind.

First, lay out the rules about the business to all your family members. Just because it's a family business doesn't automatically mean you will become the training ground for all your nieces and nephews. Let everyone know this is your business and you will put all the applicants through the same screening process. This can become difficult for some families that assume you should automatically hire them because they are "family".

Make your family members work for their jobs, never allow them to assume they will get a job because of their relation to you. If you have children, always push them to go to college and find out what they really want to do instead of falling back on the business you started because this is your dream, not theirs.

Second, always keep business and family issues separate from one another. While it's nice to reminisce with family, keep these conversations for the dinner table or reunions. When you are at work, remain professional. It's important to hold your tongue when it comes to certain conversations at work which could potentially embarrass a family member. You must also be respectful of their privacy at work and allow them to build friendships with others at the office.

Third, treat everyone equally. Just because the "new guy" may be your son, you should treat him equally. While he may get the luxury of going to lunch with you, make sure you do not favor him over your other employees. Make sure he understands that he will need to work just as hard as everyone else to get a promotion and to get ahead with your company.

Fourth, try to outsource some things that can cause contention. Bookkeeping is often a source of contention, especially if the family-run business is being controlled by a couple. Money problems are often at the forefront of many family fights and can cause unnecessary quarrels for years to come. Instead of keeping all the financial records under the control of your wife, have another company worry about them. This will reduce the strain on your marriage and it will allow your wife to focus on other aspects of her job.

If you choose to keep the bookkeeping in-house, be sure to have a solid method. Instead of assigning it to multiple people, only have one other person besides yourself in charge of the books. This way, you will eliminate confusion and you can reduce errors. Use financial software as your small business starts to grow because it is easier to track and edit from the old paper accounting methods.

Fifth, have a cheery disposition to keep harmony at the office. While you and your spouse may be having problems at home, put on a happy face for work and don't reveal your personal life there. Try to keep the employee morale as high as possible by spreading a positive attitude to the rest of your employees.