family-owned businesses must deal with specific — and potentially messy — issues. On one hand, they often benefit from loyalty and stability. Everyone has a vital stake in the business. On the other hand, dissension over money or child rearing might spill over into, say, a meeting to discuss marketing with a colleague. There might be a divorce or an incompetent brother-in-law on the payroll.“It can be very difficult working with family businesses,” says Thomas Davidow of Genus Resources in Boston, a consulting firm to family-owned businesses and foundations. “Family dynamics drive the family business decisions.”
Finding a way to keep family and business challenges separate is a primary task for a couple going into business together. For starters, each should treat the other with the same respect and expectations that would apply if the partner were Donald Trump.
There will, of course, be disagreements. Expect to have to defend your point of view and make concessions where necessary. “Someone might think, ‘You love me, so if this makes absolute good sense to me, you’ll support me emotionally and financially,’ ” says Dr. Davidow. That’s not reasonable, he adds.
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