5 Tips for Working With Family

How Three Women Family Members Run a Successful Business Together

By Lahle Wolfe, About.com Guide

How to Survive So You Can Thrive In a Woman-Owned, Family-Run Business

Contributed By: Veronica Arrendol, Co-Founder and CEO, Athyr Beauty™

Some of the challenges you will face in a family business are unique, but add to this "women owned" and that contributes to the need to address special circumstances that may not exist otherwise.

Doing business with family can be both perilous and rewarding to your family and business relationships.

When we began we searched and received an abundant amount of advice. The following tips are what we at Athyr Beauty™ have found vital to ensure our success for surviving the first year in business:

1. Start With the End in Mind! You need an exit strategy that allows you to end the partnership without risking your family ties. Remember all things eventually come to an end, so whether you sell your business or pursue other opportunities, when you end a family business, your family ties live on.
2. R-E-S-P-E-C-T! The way you speak to each other as family business partners can be very different than how you speak to your other colleagues, but should it be? Make it a priority to promote a work atmosphere that is more professional and less personal.
3. Communication is KEY! To avoid misunderstandings you must have clearly defined time commitments and responsibilities. Understand what each of you is signing up for and only renegotiate those agreements with everyone at the table.
4. Avoid Playing the Blame Game! As the company grows and the work piles up, you must avoid the tendency to have everyone handling everything. In your desire to help one another you can end up duplicating effort and working inefficiently.

   Frustration can mount and lead to finger pointing when you are pressured to meet deadlines. Make sure you have clearly defined work responsibilities and a good communication plan – this will ensure that your actions match your agreements.

5. Don’t Blur the Lines: As family and business partners you can often mix ‘love and praise’, versus ‘respect and feedback’. There can be too much emphasis on personal feelings and too little on metrics and goals; you need to keep personal feelings from dominating the office place for the sake of the business.

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