Archive for the ‘Family run businesses’ Category

I appear to be gaining clients that are family run businesses, be they run by husband and wife, siblings, parent and sibling, or a mixture of family and extended family. One of the key areas that we find needs addressing to step up their business, is establishing the future vision of each business partner so they are moving forward in unison. This means opening up communication.

Owner-managers in general can be so busy with the day-to-day running of the business, that they don’t make time to think about and openly discuss the future, including where the business fits into their life plans.  Family members are understandably mindful not to take work home with them and make a conscious effort to try to switch off and have quality time with each other.

As a consequence this can result in skirting around issues rather than making time to have a focused conversation about the future to establish where each member sees the business going.

Open communication is key

In family run businesses, there can be a closeness that can almost inhibit open communication, either because they think they know what the other wants, or they hold back from verbalising their thoughts in fear of upsetting other family members. Discussing when each member sees themselves leaving the company is of a particular delicate nature and can be a taboo subject. It shouldn’t be – brought out into the open it helps to give the business direction and focus as they work in unison towards common goals.

When I work with any client, one of the first things I do is take them through some personality profiling to help highlight their strengths and potential limitations. The profile reports also provide a great insight into their communication style, values, needs and desires. Once in black and white, I have found that by sharing this information, it gives each family member an objective base from which to open up communication channels.

I have used this process with great success to get things moving with all my clients and it is particularly effective in family run businesses. If you want to find out more about how I help clients to establish their business vision, sign up to receive my download, ‘What’s Stopping You Step Up Your Business’ teleseminar. Just enter your details in the sign up box in the left hand column of this blog post.

KENT 2020 VISION – Come and meet me and win a free profile and feedback

You can also come and meet me at the Kent 2020 Vision Show at Detling on 7 April. At the show you will have the opportunity to win a strengths profile and discuss the findings in a 1-2-1 coaching session to help you to maximise your potential and build your business success.