Going into a business relationship with a family member seems unimaginable for some people, but it does have its benefits, although it can be too stressful to manage at times.
Despite this, hundreds of businesses are run by married couples, siblings, or people that have any other form of familial connection, and a lot of them are flourishing.
This is probably due to the amount of trust that’s required to create a startup company with someone, and while you’re putting a lot at risk by opting to work with a family member, the upsides aren’t to be overlooked.
Having said this, running a company alongside a family member is anything but easy, and you’ll want to carefully balance between being serious and dedicated enough for your business to function while also maintaining a healthy relationship with the family member of your choice.
To help you better understand how this works, we’ve compiled a list of things successful family businesses do in order to retain both profitability and family relations.
Don’t ignore any stress for too long
Working together with anyone, not just a family member, can lead to a number of different stressful situations, and the last thing you’ll want to do is let that stress build up to a boiling point.
In a normal work environment, coworkers that let stress build-up can lead to less-than-favorable situations, and this is particularly true for family members working together, as there’s a lot more at stake.
This is why addressing these situations head-on and from the moment they come up is crucial to averting chaos in both your work and private life.
If anything is bothering you, it’s best to come clean and lay it all out on the table, slowly addressing every problem, one by one, until the situation is resolved.
On top of this, you shouldn’t carry any of your work-related stress homes, but rather, create a boundary between the two, and make sure that the two never mix.
Write responsibilities down
When trying to run a business successfully, everyone should have a set of responsibilities, and you’ll want to have these in writing just in case someone tries to skip out on theirs.
By doing this, you’re avoiding any potential conflict that could happen if a party refuses to do something, as you can just adhere to the contract that everyone signed.
Some would argue that this is an unnecessary level of “trust” for a familial bond, but you’d be surprised by how many business partners have thrown their family members under the bus just to get out of doing something.
Before you even set foot into the vast world of entrepreneurship, make sure you’ve set rules and boundaries for everyone involved, and this will prevent any future disagreements from getting out of hand.
Be fully transparent
Trust is the key to running a business, and you should let everyone else in the company know that family ties do exist, as they could cause problems if they’re revealed later on.
If the rest of your team finds out about this relationship later on, they might believe you’ve been biased towards a family member when resolving some previous issues, and this could potentially lead to a lack of trust between you and your other employees.
At the end of the day, there’s no reason to hide this bond, and you should actually be proud of it, as you’re both putting a lot at risk to help your business grow, and your other employees should learn to value that sort of commitment.
Not having to guess who’s related to who can be a huge bonus, so learn to be fully transparent with everyone in your company from day 1 onward.
Keep your goals clear
Setting a main goal in the workplace can do incredible things in terms of boosting productivity and morale in your company, and it also helps build a solid relationship with a family member you’ve started the business with.
By working together towards a common goal, you’re ensuring that everyone’s on the same page and that everything is going smoothly, and it may even be easier to notice who’s out of rhythm, allowing you to make corrections where need be.
Working with your partner can also help both of you learn just how much you can trust each other, and if the business ends up flourishing, it might even strengthen the bond you already had.
Final word
The market is tough, and doing everything on your own can be incredibly taxing.
Because of this, a lot of people create a startup alongside one or more other persons, and this person can be a family member from time to time.
As difficult as it sounds, separating work from familial relationships is possible, and with just a bit of dedication, you may be able to maintain a healthy work environment with someone like a spouse, your child, or any other family member.