I meet so many frustrated family members who work in the family business yet the majority of them didn’t stop and give thoughtful consideration to such a big decision as joining the family’s business.
I believe some people decide to work with their families for the wrong reasons. Being in business with your family for the wrong reason leads to further complications for both the business and the family.
If the family wants to have a long-term sustainable business and avoid family conflict, it needs to hold everyone accountable to being in the business for the right reasons. Here are seven questions every family member should be required to answer before joining the business
- What motivates you to join the family business?
- What unique gifts and skills do you bring to the family business?
- What are you expecting to get out of the family business in both the short-run and the long-run?
- What are you willing to put into the family business in terms of time, energy and commitment?
- What are you willing to put up with in terms of challenges and frustrations working in the family business?
- What are you not willing to put up with to be in the family business?
- Are you prepared to leave the family business if you don’t get what you need out of it and/or certain situations arise that you’re not willing to put up with?
You might say to yourself, “Do these questions really need to be answered?” and I would say, “Yes.” I’m the one that gets to work with many families who didn’t answer these questions at the beginning and then find themselves in the middle of some difficult dilemmas.
I’m also someone who realized there were situations I was not willing to put up with and made the choice to leave my family’s business after a 16-year career.
My mission now is to help other families avoid some of the pain and frustration I went through. These questions are just a small part of the Family Business Survival System I created that has 25 proven exercises in a variety of areas. I hope you’ll consider checking out the Survival System. Click here for more information.
