1. What makes
your business a family business? (w/ spouse and/or
children, siblings...)
3. What makes your family business experience
unique? How is it different from running a "typical"
small business?
4. What do you love about family business?
5. What do you hate about family business?
People always think we are dysfunctional. The people and relationships can be at times, but things can really work well. Family members can slot into specific roles and respect boundaries quite nicely.
7. What three things have been key to your success?
1) We
genuinely care.
Absolutely, but with eyes wide
open.
We have always been one, so hard to
analyze any lift, but our story is genuine and I’d hope our customers see us as
such.
We make it a priority to employ a
lot of people in this community. When we moved 5 years ago to our new
location, all of the employees came with us and we continue to hire more
people. Unfortunately, we had a close community in Newark, NJ which had
lasted 76 years. That bond disappeared when the city bulldozed us in 2005.
We haven't had much experience with
spouses in our business so I don’t have a good answer for this one.
My kids are under 3, but they adore coming to visit, snacking, and going for rides in the warehouse. Within a few years, I’m sure they’ll be put to work!
- Dad and uncle get in around 7 to beat the traffic, and then brag about how much earlier they get in than everyone else.
14. Do you think family business should be a
priority for others (lawmakers, service providers, college students...)? Why or
why not?
Hard to generalize for everyone but it only makes sense if you can function together. It's a special thing to be able to be with your family at work, especially across generations. And it's a beautiful thing to carry on a business that a grandparent started.
2) We
don't sit still and strive for improvement.
3) We
are workers and really roll up our sleeves.
8. Would you advice others to go
into family business?
9. What difference has being
a family business made in your sales?
10. What difference has
your family business made in your community?
11. Would you advise a couple to start
a business together? Why or why not?
12. Do you incorporate your children in
your family business? Why or why not? How old are they? What
are their roles and responsibilities?
My kids are under 3, but they adore coming to visit, snacking, and going for rides in the warehouse. Within a few years, I’m sure they’ll be put to work!
13. What's a day in the life of
a family business (share a rough outline of
your family and business daily life)?
- Dad and uncle get in around 7 to beat the traffic, and then brag about how much earlier they get in than everyone else.
- Cousin and I get in around 8, and
dads have somehow finished their work for the day :)
- Dad sits upstairs with our
bookkeeper
- Uncle sits 3 desks down from me
- Cousin sits 30 feet away with
customer service
- We mostly do our own things in
our own areas
- I will periodically interact with
each one of them throughout the day on little things, and then have a weekly
review with my cousin
- We interact with our dads maybe
once a day to tell a joke or complain about someone in the family
- Dad and Uncle wander into
warehouse, sometimes when bored
- Cousin and I mostly sit at our
desks nearly the whole day
- Dad seems to leave earlier and
earlier as the week goes by
- Uncle leaves around 4 pretty
consistently, though he is on vacation a lot
- Cousin and I leave around 5
- Cousin and I work from him a few
hours each day in our own roles, sometimes requiring communication with one
another
- Last night I went to my cousin's
house and our kids took a swim lesson together
- On Saturday night my wife and I
went to dinner with my cousin, his wife, and another couple
Hard to generalize for everyone but it only makes sense if you can function together. It's a special thing to be able to be with your family at work, especially across generations. And it's a beautiful thing to carry on a business that a grandparent started.
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