Starting a Family Business: Here's What to Do

Last Updated: 

July 3, 2024

Starting a family business is a huge undertaking, but it can pay off. For example, if you already run the family finances, you might want to start a company because it will provide more opportunities for everyone in the family to earn and save money. Family businesses can be rewarding but require thoughtful planning to succeed. A vital aspect is finding reliable legal services. Check out these legalzoom reviews for insights on an extensively used service that helps streamline legal procedures related to starting a business, thereby reducing the stress of your entrepreneurial journey. There are some things you need to consider before going ahead with your plans.

Key Takeaways on Starting a Family Business

  1. Clarify your vision: Define the purpose, goals, and values of your family business to guide decision-making and maintain focus.
  2. Develop a solid business plan: Outline your strategies for operations, marketing, finance, and growth to ensure your family business starts on a strong footing.
  3. Assign roles and responsibilities: Clearly define each family member's role and responsibilities based on their skills, experience, and interests.
  4. Establish boundaries: Maintain a healthy work-life balance by separating family and business matters and setting clear expectations.
  5. Implement a succession plan: Plan for the future by outlining a clear succession strategy that ensures the continuity and stability of the business.
  6. Cultivate open communication: Foster a culture of transparency, honesty, and trust among family members to address issues and make decisions collaboratively.
  7. Seek external advice: Consult with non-family advisors, mentors, or professionals to gain objective insights and guidance for your family business.
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Do Your Research

You may be ready to start your family business, but before you do, it's essential that you do your research. The more time and effort that goes into planning and preparing for the launch of a new business venture, the better chance of success it will have.

First things first: know your competition. In order for any company to succeed in today's marketplace, it needs to offer something unique or different from what other companies are doing, and even if there isn't anything particularly unique about your product or service (such as a restaurant), knowing what makes yours stand out from others within its industry is still important. 

Next up on our list of steps is understanding who exactly is going to be buying from this new venture: potential customers? Potential investors? Both? Once again though: while market research might seem like an obvious step in starting any company up off its feet again after so many years without activity under its belt since closing down due primarily because nobody wanted their services anymore thanks largely due largely due largely because nobody wanted anything else period ever again ever again ever again ever again ever again ever again ever again

Pick a Business Model

You've decided to start a family business. Now what?

  • Pick a Business Model: The first step in starting your own business is to pick which type of business model you'd like to use. There are many different types of models, and each one has different startup costs and profitability potentials. You need to decide which model will work best for your situation before moving forward with any other steps!
  • Create Your Business Plan: Once you've picked your business model and figured out how much money it will cost for a startup, it's time for the next big step: creating your formalised plan for running this new venture! This document should include all relevant details about how exactly this new enterprise will operate (and hopefully also include some cool graphics).

Think About Your Personal Goals

Your personal goals are just as important as the goals of your business.

You should take time to think about what you want out of this new venture, because it will affect your long-term decision-making and can even help determine whether or not you should go through with starting a family business in the first place.

For example: If one spouse wants to travel more often and doesn't have time for a regular job, it might make sense for them to work remotely while another spouse handles marketing tasks on site (or vice versa). Or perhaps both partners want their jobs done by someone else entirely, such as hiring an assistant or contracting out certain services like accounting or web design, so they can focus on other things instead of juggling multiple responsibilities at once.

Determine Your Financial Plan, and Make Sure It Works for You

The first thing you should do is sit down and write a business plan. This will help you organise your thoughts and set goals for your new family business, which will make it easier for you to succeed in the long run.

In addition to creating an overall strategy for the company, there are several things that every family business needs to consider when writing its financial plan:

  • How much money do I have? Do I have enough savings or equity in another investment property that I can use as startup capital? If not, how am I going to come up with enough funding?

Figure Out What You Can Do for Free or Cheap Now and Later on

The first thing to do is figure out what you can do for free or cheap now and later on. You'll want to start with the basics:

  • Use free tools and resources
  • Do some of the work yourself (or hire someone)
  • Ask for help from friends, family members and others who are willing to give it
  • Find a mentor or business coach who will be able to assist with your questions

Hire a Lawyer, Accountant and Other Experts to Help You Out

Lawyers, accountants and other professionals can help you with legal issues, taxes and accounting matters. You don't have to hire them if you have the time and expertise yourself but it's often better for someone who is trained in this area to handle these things for you.

Consider Partnering With an SEO Agency

Having a strong online presence is critical to any family business looking for success. An SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) agency can be invaluable here. By optimising the content and structure of your website for search engines such as Google or Bing, these experts can greatly increase visibility among potential customers and significantly expand business growth opportunities. They do this through:

  • Conducting keyword research to understand what potential customers are searching for online. 
  • Optimising website content and metadata with targeted keywords. 
  • Establishing high-quality backlinks that increase site authority and search engine rankings.

Partnering with an SEO agency allows you to focus on managing your business while they take care of all the complexities associated with online marketing, driving more visitors and sales.

Starting a family business is a huge undertaking, but it can pay off.

Starting a family business is a huge undertaking, but it can pay off.

Family businesses are an American tradition. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over half of small businesses are family owned and operated. The advantages of starting one are numerous: you'll be able to pass on your knowledge and expertise to future generations; teach kids about work ethic; teach them how to handle money responsibly; or even give them something meaningful they can do with their lives (and earn some cash while they're at it).

If you're thinking about starting a family business, here's what you need to know:

FAQs on starting and running a family business

In the FAQ section below, we'll address common questions and concerns related to starting and managing a family business. This section aims to provide practical insights and guidance on how to create a thriving family enterprise that balances both business and personal relationships, setting the stage for lasting success.

How can we achieve balance between family life and business life?

  • For starters, it's important to set boundaries. You need to know when it's time to work and when it's time to play.
  • Make sure that both you and your family are prioritising their own lives as well as each others' needs.
  • Don't overwork yourself - make sure that your business doesn't take over every aspect of your life! If this happens, it will be hard for anyone else around you (including other family members) who depend on the success of the company for stability and happiness in their lives.

What are the advantages of running a business with family?

There are many advantages to working with a family. First and foremost, you can help each other out when one of you needs it. If your brother is struggling with his homework or your sister needs help cleaning her room, there's no need for anyone else - just reach out and ask!

Second, family members can share resources and knowledge. If one person knows how to do something better than another (e.g., cooking), they'll be happy to teach their sibling how they do it so that everyone benefits from the skill set gained by learning new things together as a team.

Thirdly, having a common goal in mind allows each member of the family unit access into different parts within their own lives while also providing support during hard times such as illness or unexpected death where both parties may not know what else could possibly go wrong next but still need someone who understands them anyway without judgmental words spoken back at them later down the road when things finally get better again after a while.

What are the disadvantages of running a business with family?

The disadvantages of running a business with family include:

  • Family members may not be as motivated as you are. If your family member has other interests and passions outside of the business, he or she might not put in as much effort as you would like.
  • Family members may not have the same skills or experience as you. This can make it hard to get things done because they don't know how to do them in the first place, so they'll need help from someone else (like yourself) who does have those qualities.
  • Family members may not be as committed to the business's success, or even its survival, as much as their partner would like them to be; this could lead them down paths that hurt rather than help overall performance over time

Can a business coach help a family-run business?

A business coach can help you establish boundaries. A family-run business is often a very personal one, with everyone involved in the day-to-day operations of the business. This can lead to feelings of overwork and frustration when things don't go as planned. A good business coach will help you set goals for yourself and your employees so that everyone knows what their roles are within the company, which makes it easier for each person to focus on what they do best without feeling overwhelmed.

A good family business coach will also help identify opportunities within your industry or market segmentation that aren't currently being explored by other companies within your space (and therefore may not be easily accessible). This can be extremely valuable information if it allows you or someone else on your team at home base access right now, but more importantly than just getting ahead today? It'll give everyone involved confidence going forward because they know they've got options available whenever needed down road too!

How can we establish boundaries when running a business as a family?

Establishing boundaries will help you create a healthy and productive work environment. This will be especially important if you have more than one family member involved in the business, as it's easy for conflict to arise when everyone is working side-by-side every day. To make sure this doesn't happen, set clear expectations for what is expected from each person and how much time they can spend at the office or working remotely.

Have a family meeting where everyone gets together to discuss their roles within the company. Make sure that everyone understands their role and how it fits into the bigger picture of running an efficient business operation (and don't forget about finances!).

In addition to these meetings about tasks and responsibilities within the company itself, also have regular meetings about family time so that everyone knows what his/her schedule looks like outside of work hours, this way there won't be any surprises when someone wants time off or goes out on vacation!

Conclusion

As you can see, starting a family business is a big decision. But if you're ready to take the plunge and start your own business, we hope this guide has helped you get started on the right foot. We wish all of our readers luck in their entrepreneurial endeavours!

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