Question

use a search engine to learn more about family-businesses that have thrived across many generations (e.g Zambelli fireworks, omaha steaks, martin guitars, george r. ruhl and son, antoines restaurant, verdin bells and clocks, and hicks nurseries).What factors have allowed these companies to be successful across many generations of owners

Answer 1

Every business works on foundation certain principles and working methodology and when it comes to transition from generation to generation, succeeding generation is aware about how business is grown since its establishment. They keep directly or indirectly involved in business communications much earlier than actual handling of business.

Setting up good business and strategic planning to its growth is important but securing its future by developing succeeding generation to handle it with same spirit is equally important hence most businessmen start developing and training their next generations for business development.

Factors for Family Business Success:

1) Great Communication & Understanding: Involvement in business starts early and father can teach business ethics to son in better way than to anybody else. Knowledge and experience sharing becomes much easier within a family due to mutual trust.

2) Good Succession Planning: Transition and succession planning can be done much effectively, restructuring of organizational responsibilities can be started much earlier if required. Supportive team with proper understanding of business helps successful business succession. Readyness of next generation to handle day to day business challenges can be verified by preceeding generation before actual handover.

3) Innovations: Innovation is key factor when we see success stories of family owned businesses. Every new generation has adopted new technologies, better management practices and worked as per business trends in market. Keeping eye on market and innovations for growth and better business operations are key factors most of the family businesses adopted from generation to generation.

4) Division of Roles & Responsibilities: Various family members may be qualified to handle perticular task but proper division of responsibilities is required to avoid conflicts. Major decisions taken collectively by discussion within family.

5) Treating Family Members Fairly: Responsibilities in business may be different but all family members should be treated fairly, qualified family member are alloted with better task but all other family members has to be treated as equal to avoid misunderstandings.

6) Putting Business Relationships in Writing: To avoid miscommunication about responsibility of each member all business relationships shall be put in writing.

7) Professional Approach in Business: Providing sympathy jobs for relatives, giving casual committments and reasons for incomplete tasks should be strictly avoided. Strong professional approach in business is must for success of family businesses.

Unity, mutual understanding and working with professional approach has helped most of the family businesses to achieve great success.