Practical lessons in family business operations

  Regular, semi-formal meetings become the glue that holds a 

 family business together 

They give everyone a clear time and place to raise issues, monitor compliance and make informed decisions, while avoiding all-too-common scenarios like:

• dad assumes mum told the kids
• the kids thought the matter was taken care of
• one child starts pushing changes the others weren’t aware of

You don’t need a 10-page agenda for these meetings, but some structure is essential.

In fact, the candid and close relationships often result in a more rapid and definitive decision making process which allows the business to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. 

So, these agendas may simply be a matter of asking attendees to prepare for a particular scenario beforehand, record what is discussed, and follow up key actions afterwards.

Successful families treat these meetings like board meetings, even if there’s only two or three members involved.

It’s also beneficial to have advisers sit in occasionally (such as monthly or quarterly), to act as a sounding board and ensure decisions align with longer-term strategies.

  Letting a family member slot in because of their surname, 

 especially when they lack the necessary skills, is a recipe for 

 failure. 

On the flip side, a successful family business:

• recognises each person’s strengths
• encourages external experience before joining
• places people in positions based on skill and merit
• offers and expects continual training and mentoring

An important element of this is having clearly defined roles backed by development plans

Doing so creates far less resentment or confusion because everybody understands that, “You do your job, I do mine, and we meet at the board table to make shared decisions”. Being part of the family and being employed by the business should not entitle everyone to a place around the board table, though.
 

It also helps to be upfront about strengths and gaps. 

If your child is a technical whizz but lacks empathy, don’t put them in front of customers or in charge of valued employees. 

If that role is meant to be their path, upskill them in areas like emotional intelligence and business/financial acumen so they have the tools to succeed in the role.

  This includes everything from a policy for using the company car to how you track petty cash. 

It also includes broader family business matters like signing authorities, profit distribution, and what happens when a family member wants to exit.  Without policies, you’re relying on assumptions and this rarely ends well.

For example, we’ve seen situations where budgets were blown because there was no clear policy on expense claims – allowing family members to claim big-ticket items without approval or even receipts. We’ve also seen lacking policies that allowed a family member to authorise purchases of expensive equipment which seriously impacted cashflow.

Good governance builds consistency, and that consistency is vital for family business success (and succession planning).
 

While business is good, family members may argue this point, but it is when the business struggles that these policies will be at their most valuable. 

It is very important that these policies are established before they are needed.

  One of the biggest challenges family businesses face is balancing tradition with the need for modern, scalable systems. 

An effective system:

• provides consistency
• reduces reliance on individual knowledge
• helps manage complexity as the business grows
• supports a smoother transition between generations

Founders often rely on ways that have worked for years, which may be informal or manual processes passed down through the family. Although familiar, they can become a bottleneck and hinder growth.

Another common challenge is disagreements between family members as to what “the right system” looks like. For example, one sibling favours off-the-shelf platforms with low subscription fees, while the other is happy to invest more for a fit-for-purpose solution.

The ultimate goal is to have integrated systems that transform
operations through:

• centralised information
• streamlined processes
• greater visibility
• reduced manual error
• more time to focus on strategy

These systems also scale as your business grows, allowing you to handle more moving parts without added chaos. When it’s time to enact succession plans, the systems will be there to guide the next generation and give them a structure they can depend on.

Especially when technology or digital transformation isn’t anyone’s forte, the only practical way forward is with a digital adviser. 

A skilled adviser can conduct a thorough review of core business functions and the existing systems you currently have in place to support them. 
 

They can also engage with stakeholders across the business to understand their day-to-day realities and the tools that would genuinely help them.

Moving into product selection and implementation, the adviser remains completely objective – helping you make informed choices and approach the process in a way that encourages adoption and delivers true value.

  That might be an outsourced CFO, a legal adviser, or a trusted accountant who attends board meetings and keeps everyone financially and commercially grounded.  

We’ve worked with families where the majority are great on vision and weak on execution. Others know how to scale the business, but struggle with cashflow. External advisers can fill these critical gaps, and contribute something else that’s just as valuable: impartiality.

As another example, we have several family businesses that are run by two siblings. One sibling is outgoing and ambitious while the other is quieter and more cautious. In meetings, one dominates and the other appears otherwise engaged and in agreement. Our job is to make sure both views are actually heard and understood while important decisions are based on facts, not feelings.