Let's start with the positives.
One of the biggest advantages of a family-run branding business is that 100% of the money stays in the family. Even in a partnership, only a percentage of the profits go towards your family. Between two partners, that aren't family, the profits can be cut in half. From 100% to 50% is a big jump!
Additionally, vacations and time off can be timed well, allowing family members the flexibility to create a more balanced life. Daily, we're able to spend a bit more time at daycare pickup and dropoff with our daughter. And, we get to pick the excercise classes in the middle of the day without a ton of people packed together at the start or end of the day. For vacations, we just took a month off to travel around California and meet up with Rose's grandparents living in the US. This is something that would be incredibly challenging if we were working for someone else.
Usually, family members have varied complementing skill sets which can be beneficial to promoting teamwork leading to a competitive advantage. Due to the trust level between family members, feedback is often highly valued and accepted, which also contributes to a healthier family dynamic.
Another advantage of a family-run branding business is that there's flexibility within the workday. Conversations don't have to be limited to 9-5 hours since creativity can happen at any time. This flexibility allows our family to invest more time and energy into important bonding relationships contributing to a positive work environment.
Family-owned businesses can also accommodate changes in the family dynamic, compared to non-family-owned businesses who may not have the same level of understanding. We started Mate right before Rose was born. We immediately cut back on our time spent working although we have slowly increased time at the computer as our daughter becomes more and more independent.
Lastly, family members can define success for themselves which can result in greater job satisfaction and motivation. We decided, before starting the business, we only needed to earn $500k a year to be successful. When we reach this threshold, we're done for the year. Time to travel! Currently, we're strategizing on how to get fewer clients, but more long term relationships (multi-year). We also decided that starting each day with a walk together, taking time for meditation, stretching, running and yoga was part of a successful day, so we make every effort to create the space for these things.