Family Business - My Personal Perspective

Last week, I wrote about family business, and I did a lot of the background information on family businesses. I did a lot of the business part.

I thought I'd share with you that I was, early in my career, 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 meetings of the minds was one of the hardest things we ever did. 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.

And 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. I could then take a strong stand in the company and start leading the company based on the experience, strength and the know how.

So 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".