Good day! Today we will talk to you about family business and business ideas for the whole family.
Before writing the article, I went to look at the TOP articles for this query, my surprise simply knew no bounds. On the topic of family business, the search returned excellent articles with normal sites, or simply worthless sites did not address the topic of family business, or search engines began to correct themselves.
In general, everything is fine and if my article doesn’t get into the TOP search results, I’m completely calm, because I’m talking about You can read it on other equally interesting sites.
First, it’s worth defining what a family business is:
What is a family business
Here I didn’t even look at the official wording about family business, so that it wouldn’t influence my opinion and so that I could describe it in my own words.
A family business is a type of business in which the family itself or people related by family ties are involved. This is perhaps the simplest formulation of this type of business.
There are several options for a family business, let's look at them:
Family Business Options
I would divide family business into three categories:
- Hereditary business. This type of business is passed down from father to son by inheritance. This category very rarely applies to small businesses. Over the course of generations, the development of such a family business usually reaches a large business, very rarely to a medium-sized business, and a family business is an inherited small business, this is generally nonsense and it occurs so rarely that it is not even worth talking about. As is clear, my site for beginners will not consider this type of family business for objective reasons;
- Joint family business. This type of business involves all family members in the process of running their own business, with a division of responsibilities for each family member. For example: a pizzeria, one makes the pizza, the second bakes it, the third delivers pizza according to requests, the fourth accepts requests as a dispatcher, the fifth is engaged in the promotion and promotion of this business, the sixth does accounting and submits all reports and documentation;
- Business for the whole family. This type of business does not include any distinctions; all family members do the same work, for example, making homemade dumplings, etc.
Many types of successful family businesses can be successfully organized if you approach the issue correctly. Some people believe that relatives are reliable business partners who can be trusted. But the other side is that it is necessary to clearly distinguish between family and business, otherwise you can ruin family relationships and be left without profit.
Advantages and disadvantages of family business
Many businesses that were once founded by members of the same family are developing and thriving. But it can turn out exactly the opposite. Before deciding to organize a joint business, you need to weigh the pros and cons.
The advantages of a common family business include:
- Trust comes first. If trust and mutual understanding reign in the family, it means that it is much easier for relatives to transfer communication to a business level. It is difficult to trust a stranger as much as a relative.
- If each family member contributes equal shares of his financial savings, then he will definitely work tirelessly to return the investment and make a good profit. This, first of all, leads to the stabilization of the enterprise in the market.
- A clear advantage of a family business is the start-up capital. It is much easier to open a small family business in which several people have invested their money. It is more difficult to collect the required amount alone.
But there is another side to the medal, which also cannot be ignored. In addition to the advantages, a family business also has disadvantages:
- It is not always easy to come to an agreement with relatives. It is difficult to point out their shortcomings or incompetence; this can provoke a serious quarrel and negatively affect the organization of the work process. It is much easier to present something to an outsider who works under an employment contract.
- The second, no less important, disadvantage of a family business is that everyone wants to take a leadership position and individually manage the enterprise. This is a rather complex issue that is best resolved at the planning stage, otherwise the whole business may collapse. The issue of inheritance of a common business also needs to be legally formalized in advance.
- Not all relatives are generalists. Quickly learning a new business and successfully applying knowledge in practice requires a lot of time, and prompt action is the first key to success. It is easier to hire an employee who has education and work experience. It is unlikely that in one family there will immediately be a team of professionals who can effectively work in several areas at the same time.
- It is necessary to differentiate between work and personal relationships. In no case should family relationships influence the organization of work activities. Each employee has certain job responsibilities that are not related to home ones. To prevent a family business from becoming a bone of contention, you need to discuss all possible situations within the family before opening a business.
How to start a business successfully
The planning stage is the most important for any endeavor. Therefore, before starting a new business, you need to find out what kind of business all family members can do. That is, in what work process each relative will be involved. This should be done based on personal experience, professional and creative abilities, education and work experience.
Business ideas for families
To establish a family business, you do not need to immediately plan a global enterprise that will bring unrealistic profits. It is better to start small and gradually increase the pace of development. Here are the types of family businesses that could get you started.
Sales
The most popular area today. Indeed, with a small investment you can easily start a fairly profitable business - a store or a trading post. The direction can be different: food, shoes or clothing, books and stationery. When choosing a direction, everything depends on the demand of the population and the number of competitors. Rent a small room, create an unusual design in it, decide on work equipment and the product itself, advertise the outlet in a high-quality manner - this is easy to do with a properly organized approach.
Services
You need to think about what family members know and can do. Based on this, you can open a business in the service sector. There are many business ideas. For example, a car service or car wash, a cleaning company for cleaning houses and offices, a tailoring or shoe repair shop. In general, it all depends on the abilities of relatives.
Agriculture
This does not mean at all that you need to sow hectares of land with grain and maintain an entire pig farm. You can start growing herbs or flowers, breeding fish or snails. In this case, you need to take care to immediately find sales points. But each family member does not need to master complex professions; it is enough to love nature and approach work with special responsibility.
Many young parents would like to start their own business project, but caring for the family prevents most from trying. What if we try to involve not only adults, but also children?
But is this real?
Sometimes modern society underestimates the capabilities of children. Of course, they cannot drive a car or vote, but many children have a strong work ethic and often demonstrate creativity, which helps them achieve success. The knowledge, hobbies and skills that they managed to acquire at school, developed through daily interaction with gadgets, make them ideal candidates for participating in the family business.
If a young talent opens his own business, the young businessman will have many advantages. This can be a wonderful opportunity for a child or teen to become accustomed to financial responsibility. Also, such children learn the ability to build working relationships with peers and other people, and the rate of formation of a full-fledged independent personality is very high.
However, due to their age, they are unlikely to be able to run a business on their own, but no one canceled the help of their parents. The solutions presented below are suitable even for the smallest family members.
Tutoring
If a teenager excels in a certain subject and is an excellent student, you can start a joint project to provide tutoring services to less educated schoolchildren. The child will be able to receive money for his knowledge, for the time he spends teaching others.
This type of business can be modified: video conferencing, consultations via the Internet, electronic payments, etc. Therefore, it is quite possible to run a tutoring business not only live, but also online.
Social Media Consultant
Nowadays, children begin to absorb terabytes of knowledge about social networks almost from the cradle. They explore these sites, know their features, and some become YouTube and Instagram stars, gathering millions of subscribers around them. This can be an invaluable source of advertising for small businesses.
If a child manages a well-promoted account, page, channel or profile, then he can quite reasonably provide the services of a social media consultant, that is, explain to local small business owners the full value of social networks as an advertising platform.
For example, you can give a lecture to acquaintances or friends who run a small restaurant or store, and offer to advertise their business. With the right approach, such a business will bring additional income to the family budget.
landscaping
As long as nature exists in the world, and humanity continues to appreciate its beauty, landscaping will be constantly required. When a child is interested in nature, parents can support his curiosity. For a teenager, there is always a simple job in gardening: mowing the grass, removing weeds, cutting dry branches, and so on.
If the interest continues, then there will be more and more experience, and the tasks will be more complex and specific. Thus, an apprentice can become an experienced gardener who can independently care for nature and develop his own landscaping projects. Needless to say, such an activity will help a young man make a professional decision, choose an institute and a suitable direction.
Childcare or dog walking
Traditional jobs for teenagers did not go away after the technological leap - they became even more necessary and in demand on the market. Many sites help children look for basic jobs that adults don’t have time for.
Does your child love animals? Let him help neighbors or friends walk their pets when they are too busy. If a child has younger brothers and sisters, then the parents can offer the older one to look after the children of busy relatives or acquaintances. After gaining a little experience, a “freelance nanny” can try to offer services on special websites.
Cooking and baking
In addition, it is possible to become a participant in some culinary talent show. Even if you don’t win, with the accumulated experience it will be easier to start your own business: organize small banquets, children’s parties at home.
Non-profit organization
A children's business does not necessarily have to include a financial aspect. Young philanthropists who are passionate about preserving rare animals and social issues are able to create a tiny charitable organization.
While working on such a project, children learn a lot - this experience will certainly be useful to them in the future. Joint discussion various options and strategies to help those in need will have a positive impact on the analytical skills of young minds, will strengthen the trusting relationship between the parties, i.e. parents and children.
Second hand store
People's interest in reusing things has led to a huge increase in the popularity of the Second-hand chain and other stores that sell used clothing. You can adopt this positive experience and open a business selling used items, because children grow up, and their clothes, shoes and toys lie idle.
In addition, in the 21st century, when technology is developing extremely quickly, children and teenagers are constantly acquiring new gadgets and accessories for them: consoles, headphones, computer mice, joysticks, and so on, and they completely forget about older analogues. Why not give these things a second chance? They can be tidied up, repaired and sold for a modest price.
What types of successful family businesses can be organized today in order to succeed is a question that worries many. Experts' opinions on this matter are divided. Some believe that this way of doing things is the most reliable, since relatives will not let each other down. Others are absolutely sure that both business and relationships can be ruined.
Pros and cons of a family approach
Increasingly, in the open spaces of entrepreneurship, you can find companies organized by members of the same family. But before you involve all your relatives in creating a common business, carefully evaluate how successful or unsuccessful this idea is.
The advantages include the following factors:
- Trust – in any company this quality plays a decisive role. It is much easier for members of the same family to save it than for complete strangers. Moreover, each family member will work tirelessly, knowing that all this will be passed on to the children;
- interest in profit - organizing a joint venture with your relatives promises considerable income, since each of the participants in the business will want to quickly return the invested funds;
- starting capital - each family member can take part in the creation of a company on absolutely equal terms, and this is a completely different amount than if the company was organized by one person.
Of course, relationships with relatives are not always smooth, and sometimes it is much more difficult to resolve some issues with close people than with strangers. In this regard, a business for a family can also have a number of negative aspects:
- It is very difficult to tell your relative that he is incompetent in some matter - this can ruin the relationship with him. On the other hand, if not said, this will begin to affect the results of work;
- It is not always possible to unambiguously resolve the issue of inheritance, especially if there are several candidates for the director’s chair;
- The lack of professionalism of close people on many issues of entrepreneurship sometimes also leads to collapse. It often happens that it is not a specialist who is appointed to key positions in a company, but a relative of the owner.
It is very difficult in such a business to be able to differentiate between work and family matters, especially if all the owners of the company also live in the same living space. In this case, it is necessary to discuss all possible situations at a round table even before your enterprise declares itself in business.
Things to do
When choosing an idea for the direction of your joint venture with your relatives, base it on the abilities, qualities and skills that all family members possess.
Trade
The small family business in sales is perhaps the most popular. You can achieve success here in any direction, especially when it comes to food. A small bakery shop or a tea shop, a grocery store or a sweets shop - all this is doomed to success with the right organization and approach.
In Russia, you can quite often find family contractors working in markets with goods that no one has been interested in for a long time. Today, greater results can be achieved by renting a small retail space, to which you will give a unique appearance, create a special interior, and where you can offer your customers a highly targeted product that is in demand.
A trading enterprise combined with small production would also be a good idea. For example, a mini-bakery that will allow you to sell your own bread. A curtain store that will also provide tailoring and design services will also be a successful destination. To do this, the family must have one seamstress, one designer, a salesperson and a person who will control all economic issues and make purchases.
Agriculture
If your family has cultivated a love of gardening from time immemorial, then there is nothing to think about. Farming would be the ideal option. Today this trend is not just fashionable, but rather correct. However, the field of activity does not necessarily have to be raising animals. Types of family businesses in this area can be very diverse:
- ostrich farm;
- snail farm;
- growing vegetable or fruit crops;
- greenhouse products;
- growing greens.
An important point in the agricultural business is the fact that absolutely every member of the family should find such activity interesting.
Services
It’s quite good to expand into the service sector. For example, a car service can become your niche activity if there are at least two men in the family who are interested in this. The female half will be able to take care of all accounting, organizational, and marketing issues. Another direction could be carpet or furniture cleaning, a law firm, or cleaning large houses or offices.
There may be many more such options. The main thing is to correctly assess what abilities all participants in the future business have and take advantage of this.
Family Business: Video