Having a family business is one of the surest ways to ensuring that your generation’s future is well secured. To achieve this, you must employ dedication, sacrifice, and hard work for it to run successfully.
Previous reports indicate that 70% of these ventures do not live to see their second generation due to factors such as stiff competition, poor leadership, and financial handles, amongst others.
Many family-owned firms have, however, beaten all odds and maintained top leads in the market today. Take the case of Acer computers, Wal-Mart, ford motor company, to name a few.
How well your family business will survive in the market is all in your hands as a family. Besides, unlike their counterparts with frequent management changes, this type of venture can have the same management staff for over 25 years. This means you need to work extra hard as a family for your business to survive in the market.
Accomplish this by employing these six key strategies and watch as your family business returns skyrocket.
Equip Your Staff With Current Skills
Today, firms have highly adopted technology and innovation in their operations thanks to the many advantages associated with it. This, in return, has brought about an increasing demand for new knowledge and skills to enable the workers to perform maximally, a move that is not peculiar to family-owned businesses.
Therefore, regular training is a must-do activity for your business to remain relevant in the market. Besides, it will boost the worker’s confidence, thus empowering them to make decisions and increase their commitment towards the company.
Seminars, on the job training, use of the Internet, and conducting exchange programs are some of the ways to train your workers. Additionally, have the staff trained on one skill each month to cut down on cost and enhance easy grasping of content.
Empowering your staff with new skills will not only help your business fight the high competition experienced today but will also help you produce much at a lower cost.
Reach a Broader Market Through Digital Marketing
There is no better way to have your products reach the world faster than to use the Internet, where most people spend their time today. Besides, it is an affordable medium that helps you get feedback on your products and track the buyer’s activities.
Equally important, this mode of marketing gives room for a broader market through the use of influencers who help endorse your products to their followers. Therefore, stop doing injustice to your future generation’s wellbeing by using traditional marketing forms that hardly bear any fruits today.
Manage Your Finances
As with any other area of life, the management of money in a family business is complicated. Owing to this, you should make every effort to hire financial advisor services to establish sound usage of finances within the company.
Improper financial management is said to be a leading cause of failure in family-owned businesses around the world. No matter the size of your business, you should never get to the point of asking for money from the family members after having developed the budget.
The business should, instead, cater to all its needs and have some money kept aside as future savings. This will only be possible through the services of a professional that will enlighten the team on proper management of finances and devise ways of attracting more money to the venture.
Make Use of Outside Talent
No matter how educated or talented your family is, you cannot beat the massive know-how found in the outside world. Besides, hiring outsiders is a good move towards breaking the monotony, attracting more customers, and enhancing learning.
Additionally, this aspect helps your business gain trust and acceptance from the surrounding community as they more than not perceive it as a corporate social responsibility action.
In addition to hiring outside talent, you can also have your perceived successors gain work experience elsewhere before they join the company. Doing this will go a long way in ensuring your family business survival after they take over as they will have gained much knowledge on the dos and don’ts of business survival.
Enhance Professionalism in Running the Business
The fact that you are answerable to the same customers as your business counterparts who are doing training often, giving better salaries, and appreciating their workers regularly should prompt you to pull up your socks.
Moreover, you should work hard to do away with challenges such as mixing business life with personal life, lack of structure, and favoritism common in family-run businesses. Employing professionalism in how you run the company is a sure way to overcome this.
It wouldn’t cost much to have a laid down structure, strict work ethics, and a chain of command in your business. Also, ensure you have an all-round board of directors composed of both family members and outsiders.
Have a Well Laid Out Succession Plan
Before starting a family business, you must agree on how succession will take place when the need arises. Key factors to consider include when the succession takes place, who will be involved in the process, and the qualities of the successor, among others.
It is essential to be accommodative and consider the family dynamics as you come up with these plans. Talking openly about it will also help to achieve a seamless succession process in the future. As always, remember to involve the opinions of outsiders where necessary.
Parting Shot
The fact that blood connects you in a family business does not exempt it from challenges faced by other ventures’. Therefore you cannot risk failing to put in the hard work and professionalism required for a company to thrive.
Besides, you should be keener about achieving success in a family business as it carries your loved ones’ future. Taking note of the above six measures will bring massive growth to your family business and enable it to withstand challenges in the generations to come.