Growing up in a Family Business

ABSTRACT

The paper aims to discuss the dynamics of Growing Up in a Family Business setting, as discussed in the second chapter of McCann’s Book. While it acknowledges the complexity of such special environment, the paper argues that the benefits outweighs the disadvantages as seen in the stories of many successful Filipino Family Businesses like the Gokongwei’s, Ayala’s, and the Sy’s. Furthermore, the paper also presents the relevance of the concepts discussed in the modern Family Business setting today.

Lastly, the paper aims to show how the success of any Family Business is dependent of several factors, one of which would be the environment in which it operates as well the as the willingness of the all parties involved to make it work.

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COMING from a family that runs a business both has its risks and opportunities. Oftentimes though, these types mix family matters with work-related performance and overall job output. Greg McCann, author of When Your Parents Sign the Paychecks, points that for those who are involved in family businesses, one must know how to balance issues like family roles, work, career, and wealth; learning how to transition well through generations; and how to properly earn credibility and marketability on one’s own.

“Where else can you find a group of people who have the same values...There is already built-in loyalty and pride in the business,” Josephine Gotianun-Yap of Filinvest stated. There is a big difference between a regular family and a family that owns a business. Most cases have children exposed with the work starting from an early age, resulting to strong commitment to the business during adulthood. However, rules like disclosing family finances and dealing with conflict often do come in. In the Philippines, even the Gokongweis published their own 10 commandments, with rules such as: “no work, no pay”; “being family isn’t guarantee of job”; and “there can only be one boss.” The second stated rule fits as a perfect example of how assumptions are often misleading for anyone presupposing a sure job after college.

Family businesses also have its life stages. Quoting from Martin Lorenzo of Pancake House Group, “Actually now, businesses don’t last any more three generations. Business cycles are very short and rapid.” Although this is the case, it would still greatly help to learn from the life stages, particularly, using it as a roadmap and by normalizing transitions. “To minimize your risks when starting out, learn everything you can about the business. Read. Research. Get a mentor,” Rommel Juan of Binalot said. To add to this, take it from Socorro Ramos of National Bookstore who stated, “You have to adjust to the flow of the business. If you’re not open to change, your business can’t move on.”

To properly differentiate