Misnomers About Family Businesses
Ivy Slater
Business Coach | Speaker | Author | Podcast Host | Serving Women Business Owners + Corporate Sales Teams
Last week, I wrote about family business and I shared a lot of the background information. I did a lot of the business part.
I thought I'd share with you that I was early in my career and part of a family business. When I went into printing, I was actually recruited by my father.
It was one of the toughest negotiations I ever did. He saw me as his daughter; he saw me as somebody that he was going to mold.
I saw myself as an experienced salesperson, somebody coming in with operations experience, sales experience, and some credentials already.
That meeting of the minds was one of the hardest things we ever did.
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When we think about family business, we think about sometimes the nepotism and how we advance faster because of our family. Sometimes the opposite can happen. That's what happened to me.
I truly had to prove myself. I had to prove myself by building a book of business by building sales that equaled my father's so I could then take a strong stand in the company and start leading the company based on the experience, strength and the know how.
When we think about family business, there are some misnomers.
Most importantly, I think one of the most important things, whether you're in a family business or not, is to truly build the business experience, the big business acumen that truly builds our strengths and leadership, and a strength that gives us the ability to lead the organizations forward.
Go in with the ability not to say, "Hey, it's my family, I can do what I want," but to go in with the, "Hey, I have an opportunity, how much can I learn in how many different areas to grow and experience," and then lead from a place of experience and take your family legacy really far.
Public Health Doctoral Student | Gerontology and Disability, Benefits Trafficking, & Community Engaged Researcher | Art & Media Knowledge Translation Specialist | Certified At-Risk Adult Crime Tactics Specialist
11 个月I ?? Ivy!
? Revenue Growth Specialist for eCommerce Brands | Building & running Holistic Marketing Systems that combine SEO, Email, Social & Paid Ads for Predictable Sales Growth | @McKee Creative
11 个月I like that you had to build your own book of business. Perfect.
Business Strategist ?? Productivity Expert Helping Entrepreneurs Scale Without Burnout ? Optimize Teams, Time & Systems with VA Leadership Programs | Author | Speaker | Podcast Host
11 个月Ivy, your post really hits home. As an advocate for streamlined processes and time management, I couldn't agree more. Family businesses can indeed be a complex web, but with the right systems in place, they can thrive. Keep up the good work!