Owning a business is already complicated, but owning a family business adds a layer of relationship complexity. An entrepreneur’s only tie with their business partners is the business. If things don’t work out, they need to settle the financial and legal matters, shake hands, and part ways. However, people in family businesses don’t have that luxury. Working with a parent, sibling, or child complicates things, as the family relationship and the business relationship are inevitably intertwined.
Over the past 10 years, Jared Byas, Founder of the Common Good Family Business Center has helped more than 250 family businesses healthily navigate conflict, as well as facilitate a smooth transfer from one generation to the next. Common Good uses a family-first approach, as it believes that a healthy family is the foundation of a healthy family business. Its services include management and ownership transition, succession planning, role clarity & communication improvement, leadership development, retirement planning, and board development.
“I work with family businesses because I recognize how valuable they are to communities,” says Founder Jared Byas. “They are the backbone, not just of the community, but the entire economy, as well. I've found working with them over the last 10 years to be incredibly fulfilling because they make such an impact in their communities.”
According to Byas, there is a wealth of resources today providing knowledge about the financial and management aspects of entrepreneurship. However, there is a lack of resources dealing with the specific complexity of a family business. This is why Common Good emphasizes education in this area by holding various events in the community. One such upcoming event is about decision-making in a family business, which will be held on February 15. It will tackle the need for the younger generation to step up without forcing out the older generation and seeks to guide the older generation on creating an environment that supports a healthy succession plan while maintaining a strong family bond. They will also be hosting national events throughout the upcoming year.
“Over the years, I’ve learned that ideal communication patterns and family dynamics are often counterintuitive,” Byas says. “For many families, no one wants to hurt each other's feelings because they care about each other. But, in their effort to not hurt feelings, they end up building resentment, and that does more damage in the long term. We help family members in business realize that conflict is not something that should be avoided. Instead, learning to navigate conflict healthily is what brings long-term peace.”
Byas says that Common Good works with two types of families – the first one he likens to an emergency room case, where things have gotten to a point where the business and the family relationship are on the verge of collapse. The second one is more of a routine checkup, where the families want to make sure everything is to avoid huge crises later on. Several years ago, most of Common Good’s clients were the former. Fortunately, awareness of family business coaching has grown, and the two types of clients are now at roughly equal numbers. Byas hopes that, as time goes on, more clients seek help early, before things escalate and become irreparable.
“At some point, during a meeting with almost every family we work with, I take the time to express my gratitude for being able to sit in what I call a 'sacred space',” Byas says. “Not many get to sit with a family through such an intense and emotional transition and witness that vulnerability and change. It's been remarkable for me, so I don't take it for granted and I'm incredibly grateful. The amount that I've learned from families over the last 10 years is just as much as I've taught them.”
Media contact:
Name: Karen Peazzoni
Email: [email protected]
