Thicker Than Water: Family First or Not When Starting A Business

Guests: Thalia Lyn: Founder and CEO Island Grill Josh Baron: Co-founder BanyanGlobal, Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, Harvard Business Review,  author, and thought leader. Welcome to Your Business Matters, a podcast of EXIM Bank Jamaica where we bring thought leaders together on thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business Seasoned investors and entrepreneurs alike strongly warn against going into business with kin. Many have witnessed first-hand relationship fallouts and deals gone south but others have told the tale of leveraging family businesses for benefits such as cost-savings, etc. So how do I decide which is better for my business? In an article by media.com, the writer purports that the main street is filled with the corpses of family relationships that ended in lawsuits.  The driving force behind this reality is the inability of the family members to separate their business aspirations from their actual ability to run a profitable business. Research has shown that only 13% of successful family businesses last through three generations and less than 2/3 survive through the second generation. While it is suspected that the loss of growth beyond these generations is due to comfort and complacency, there are exemplary family businesses that are still thriving despite the alarming statistics. What is the glue that keeps the business and the family together? Does the glue even exist at all?  For a business to be profitable, the owner/s must be able to think logically and make headstrong decisions, forgoing emotions as their main driving force as a business strategy and with family comes just that, emotions. So is it blood before business? Some of what we discussed include: Is it a plus or minus to go into business with a family member? What are some nuances with working with family members? Why is it important to separate emotions when running a family business? Why could labor costs be higher with the hiring of family members? Tips on being successful in a family business. We also touched base with a member of our audience Charlene Humphrey  who posed this statement to our guests “ Are there any organizations that can help family businesses to weather the current storm?” Connect with our guests: Connect with Josh Baron on LinkedIn or visit [email protected] or www.banyan.global. You may also contact Thalia  at  Tlynn@[email protected] Thank you for joining us on Your Business Matters hosted by Heneka Watkis-Porter of the Entrepreneurial You podcast. Remember to join us next week for another exciting episode with our thought-provoking leaders as they debate thought-provoking ideas and methods to help grow your business and move closer to your goals. To stay in touch, you can connect with us on your favorite podcast platforms at ‘Your Business Matters’ where we bring the matters to the table, or visit eximbankja.com for further information and business resources. As you continue to mind your business, I leave with you this quote from   Henry Ford "Coming together is the beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success.” Take care.