Running a family business is a noble thing. Family businesses are a core societal aspect of life in the UK, not to mention a collective economic powerhouse; not only can carrying on a family enterprise enrich your life personally, but it also benefits the wider community in a number of key ways.
This said, and noble as it is to be part of something so familial and community-beneficial, running a family business is by no means easy. It’s a melding of professional and personal that most families do not experience, and which can bring some very uncomfortable interpersonal situations – not to mention the stresses generated from the inevitable overtime you end up working at the dinner table. Here, then, let’s explore how best to re-negotiate your dual life as family member and colleague, for the betterment of both business and health.
Establish Hard Time Boundaries
The fundamental tension in any family-run business is not that of personality clashes, but instead that of time. Work and family are not the same thing, but both co-exist in professional and personal settings – so how do you enforce their separation? By defining specific, non-negotiable work hours and delineating family time separately. During family time, work is a forbidden topic: phone notifications are silenced, emails closed, and work talk strictly off-limits.
Schedule Non-Work Time First
To help make this delineation clearer for both you and your family, you can work to prioritise personal events and activities over work obligations. This means you treat family events, school plays, and date nights like high-priority client meetings; that is, you put them on the calendar first, and give them priority over other work-related tasks. This serves to re-centre the family as opposed to the family business.
Delegate and Outsource Ruthlessly
What is the point of a family business if it robs you of time with your family? Sometimes, and even with all the structure in the world, work tasks can steal you from the moment. This is just as true in personal life as in professional life, when ‘life admin’ like household chores and food shopping gets in the way of quality time. This is an opportunity to use your resources to improve your family’s quality of life; by delegating professional tasks to accredited experts, you can free up time to focus on the things that matter.
Create a Dedicated Workspace
This may seem an obvious point to make, but it bears mentioning: having a distinct physical separation your work and home can be crucial to creating a healthy balance. A spare room or even just a corner alcove as a home office can be differentiation enough between work and home. At the end of your workday, physically closing up your station will help you mentally transition between roles. With this harder boundary, it’s easy for everyone to leave work stress behind and focus on what’s in front of you: family.