Emotional and Financial Wellness in the Family Business

To Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior and my family for their unconditional support ACKNOWLEDGMENT My gratitude, respect, and love for: Marcia F. Quiróz Flores, for giving her best every day as a mother and family businesswoman. Her example and guidance have inspired me to endeavor myself to achieve my dreams. Francisco J. Matamoros, my husband, colleague, and private editor who enriched the content of this book through his permanent feedback. Karla J. Benavente Orellana, for encouraging me to write and supporting me in my early years as an entrepreneur. Diana Maribel Galdámez, my dear aunt for her appreciated collaboration with the revision of the english version of the book. I deeply thank the business families who have opened their doors to me and given me invaluable teachings. My gratitude to you, for buying this book and taking the time to share with me through your reading, thank you very much!   CONTENTS Introduction I Intrinsic Nature of the Family Business 1 Dreaming of a Better Life 2 The Birth of a Daughter Named Business 3 The DNA of the Family Business 4 Together and Somewhat Scrambled 5 Neither Good nor Bad, It all Depends 6 Two Sides of the Same Coin 7 In the Same Boat 8 Agreeing on the Disagreement 9 Alexithymia in the Family Business 10 Deep Cleaning 11 Where Do I Start to Order the Family Business? II Being Part of the Family Business 12 Up and Down 13 What Lucky Parents! 14 Clear Rules, Long Friendships 15 Second versus Third 16 More Managers Than Employees 17 First My Teeth and Then My Relatives 18 An Additional Little Mentioned System 19 Equity versus Equality 20 Age Does Matter 21 Full Clarity 22 Barbie is not the Same as Barbara III Family Business Governance 23 Permanent Change 24 The Bigger, the More Complex 25 Comprehensive Planning 26 Strong Foundation 27 Strategic Actions 28 Caring for the Family Business 29 The Biggest Ones 30 The Offspring 31 The Bosses 32 Eagles Nest 33 Careful Selection IV Resources for Sustainable Growth on Family Business 34 The Intangible is Evident 35 GPS for Decision Making 36 Against Hurricanes 37 Put in Common 38 Permeating Excellence 39 It’s the Race, not the Finish Line 40 Vegetables in the Soup 41 Taking Care of the Piggy 42 Standing up to Disagreement 43 It Helps or Hurts You 44 Patrimonial Shielding V Transcendence of the Family Business 45 The Real Motivation 46 From Hands to Hands 47 Change or Be Changed 48 The Greatest Test of Leadership 49 Relay Race 50 An entrepreneur is born or made? 51 Impacting Your Environment 52 Business Myopia 53 The Eagle Renewal 54 Priorities 55 Legacy Bibliographic References How to Contact the Author? About the Author   Introduction The family business is the force that moves the world economy and at the same time is one of the most sensitive and interesting systems that exist. It has also demonstrated its resilience by coming out ahead of the Covid 19 pandemic. If you are part of a family business, whether you are involved in its management or not, the content of this book will surely help you: clear up doubts, understand better, make decisions more solvency and, above all, strengthen both your family and business ties. I have experienced the issue of the family business firsthand; I know the successes and failures that can occur. I have also had the great honor of supporting many business families through consultancy, for which I have become aware of the mistakes that are frequently made in this environment, errors that, although they arise from good intentions, end up weakening both the company and the family. Understanding the unique situations that we experience as part of a family business is more common than we think it relieves the stress of believing that we are dysfunctional as a family. It will also allow us to prepare ourselves better to face the different stages that usually occur in the natural evolution of a family business. It is important to put on the table some disturbing issues that are difficult to address due to the emotional connotations that characterize them, such as: who can work in the family business, how benefits will be assigned for each position, when a promotion is correct, who will define the responsibilities of relatives who work in the company, the process of evaluating the organizational structure, how business decisions should be made, the action of dismissal of a relative, the economic security of the founder when the generational transfer occurs, among others. Below I will share with you words of life from the Bible, the counseling book par excellence, learning from the experience of others and my own of the implications of being a member of a business family, and advice based on real cases of family businesses that have overcome obstacles and have managed to grow stronger in the process. For reasons of confidentiality, every name of individuals and companies have been changed. The format of this book encourages personal reflection, dialogue with members of the business family and decision-making through the application of its content. I know that all the effort and sacrifice you have made to move your family business forward has been with the genuine desire to provide the best for your family. Let us have faith and do what is right for those we love, and for our little hen that lays the golden eggs, which is the family business. Remember that you don't have to kill the hen or the party is over, and you don't have to neglect the family because otherwise you lose the meaning of having golden eggs. With God's help; the emotional wellness of the family and the economic growth of the company are possible, dare today to make decisions to achieve transcendence!   I Intrinsic Nature of the Family Business Welcome to a journey in which we will analyze together the peculiar dynamics that occur in the family business. Knowing the different components of this will allow us to clarify who we are as individuals, families, and companies. The family business is usually born as a result of the dream of its founder, as time passes, the natural growth of the family and the business intertwine, starting a hybrid institution; where the relatives are integrated as a team to carry out the business that generates the family sustenance. When the family joins the company almost by osmosis, its essential values are transferred, giving life to an organization that in a certain way will have the family DNA. It is a great blessing and a great challenge at the same time to stay together as colleagues and relatives, thus initiating an eternal struggle to assume the correct role in the system at the right time. The trust, sense of belonging, commitment and shared identity that exist among its members can become the cause of its poor management or the key to its success. Everything will depend on the maturity, clarity, and firmness with which both the family and the enterprise are managed. To make the most of the wealth of the family members who are part of the enterprise, we must agree that each one can have a different approach on some issues, this, far from being inconvenient, well managed, generates wealth and promotes progress. We should not be afraid to disagree when analyzing situations, what we do try to avoid is not expressing our thoughts and feelings correctly because that can really sink a family business, since it eats away at unity and the desire for continuity. It will be necessary to establish adequate mechanisms to work permanently on transparency, communication, understanding, forgiveness, and conflict management. Another important factor that is part of a family business is ownership. Owning the business adds additional responsibilities and benefits that influence the behavior and expectations of its members.