Small businesses were just feted last week on Small Business Saturday and many small businesses are family operations. So, how do you keep the “family” out of a family business?
As a small business owner and family business owner, I have found that it is sometimes hard to keep the drama, that happens sometimes in family relationships, out of the business.
Here are my tips to keeping your family business professional.
1. Make sure that even with family members you keep it professional. When deadlines are missed, you’ve got to take corrective action just as you would with a regular employee. When tensions rise, it may be better to separate from hiring a certain family member than to jeopardize a family relationship.
2. Be careful who you hire in your family. Not every family member may be suited for working in your business.
3. If you hire your kids, make sure you put gates up between work and family. Your children can grow to resent that you are always in work mode and that they may feel that they are simply becoming employees.
4. Make sure to pay fairly so that family members do not begrudge your success or feel resentful by thinking that you have built your business at their expense.
5. Do not be afraid to separate from family members who cause too much work stress or drama for you. At some point you do have to consider that poorly performing employees (although they may be a family member) may need to be let go and that action may be a blessing for them and you in the long run.
Running a small business and especially when you introduce your children into your world can be exciting and stimulating for both you and your kids, but make sure that you are ready to take on the additional nuances that employing family members brings into your work world.