4 Tips on Running A Successful Family Business

An estimated 80 percent of U.S. businesses are family owned or controlled. So in writing this, I know many can relate when I say that family businesses are both rewarding and challenging. The family-owned businesses that succeed are those with the right attitude and mindset.

Twenty years ago, I had a microdermabrasion procedure that left my skin raw. When I couldn’t find anything to quickly heal my skin without harmful side effects, I decided to create a solution. Thus, TriDerma® Skincare, a line of true botanical based skin healing products made with AP4® Genuine Virgin Organic Aloe, moisturizers, and other carefully selected botanicals, was born. As TriDerma grew, I told my daughter and granddaughter to choose wherever they wanted to work, and they chose TriDerma.

Even after all these years, I’m still humbled by my family’s work ethic and dedication to the business. With that, we’ve gathered our top tips on how to successfully run your family business based on our own experiences:

1. Respect each other: Whether you have one or a dozen family members working for your company, it is extremely important to respect each other. Respect one another’s ideas on new and improved aspects of the business. Respect each other’s faults and blunders. Respect personal space, both inside and outside of the office. Respect the way you communicate to each other, whether it be professional or casual. And always respect other employees. When there is mutual respect among all members of the family and team, your entire business will feed off of that positivity.
2. Have similar work ethics: It is crucial to understand how you work together as a family business. Before entering into business together, be sure your work ethic aligns. Of course, there will always be hectic days when nothing seems to go right, which is why it’s so important to know that everyone is equally dedicated to the business and willing to work until problems are solved.
3. Empower freedom of choice: A myth about family businesses is that everyone in the family is expected to work there. One of the most important things for a successful family business is that everyone wants to be there. Working in the family business should be both fun and challenging, but ultimately, it should be a choice. You should always encourage your family to choose their own path and their own career.
4. Love and enjoy what you do: With any career, you need to be happy in the environment and find joy in the work. By working with the people you care most about, you learn to enjoy your time together and cherish the opportunity you have. For some people, working with their families seems unbearable. For others, working with their families is as normal and natural as breathing. However you structure your business, you must be satisfied with the people around you, trust them implicitly, and know that the best job is being done. A family business can be successful if your passion and drive echoes throughout each other, and in return throughout the entire company.

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Written by Gloria Vanderlaan, CEO and Founder of TriDerma® Skincare, a line of botanical based skin healing products made with AP4® Genuine Virgin Organic Aloe and other carefully selected ingredients. You can follow TriDerma team on Facebook & Twitter.

Cover Photo: From Left; Tess Fox, Director of Marketing, Gloria Vanderlaan, CEO and Founder, and Dru Fox, CFO