How to promote a family business in the UK

About 90% of ventures in the UK have a family profile, with approximately 70% of these businesses closed after the founder's death. This is due to a number of factors — among them, the difficulty of managing family businesses, retaining employees and customers and dealing with the transition. 

Despite the challenges, there are several practices capable of promoting business growth and perpetuating it. Therefore, it is essential to be willing to enhance knowledge and professionalize the enterprise.  

Bearing in mind the reality of the country and the need to stand out from the competition to keep the doors open, we list 8 efficient family management strategies for a successful company. Be sure to check it out!

Systemic strategic planning

Undoubtedly, the company's success is only viable from a solid strategic plan that involves the entire organization. It is essential, in this sense, that you can understand the needs of the business and apply the management tools that will have the ability to enhance its positive points and mitigate the negative factors.

It is this action plan, after all, that will contribute with parameters to evaluate the development of the business over the years and operate constant revisions. It is important to include in the planning, for example, mission, values ​​and institutional principles. In addition, it is worth identifying weaknesses and opportunities in the market arising, for example, from the location of the enterprise and the differential of the product offered.

Financial and accounting planning

Another important aspect to be considered is the company's financial and accounting planning. To make the company solid in the market and make it perpetuate in the long term, it is necessary to have minimal control over cash and turnover. Many family businesses, in this sense, make mistakes by not forecasting and managing capital and by confusing personal and business expenses.

So don't lose sight of the accounts and create a schedule to write down all the entries and exits, as well as the periods of the year when you can count on highs or lows in sales. This will allow you to plan the long-term allocation of resources and realize the need, for example, to set aside funds to cover expenses in the following months and to invest in your own business.

Structured transition plan

As seen, about 70% of family businesses do not survive after the death of their founder. In order for this not to be the fate of your company, it is essential to have a structured transition plan in hand, which, in turn, should consider specific aspects of the institution, as well as the needs and interests of the family group.

Ideally, this should be built on the basis of dialogue and the presence of the founder and others involved. It is interesting to define in the plan issues such as who will be responsible for managing the project after the succession, how this process will take place and what are the limits for decision making.

Attracting and retaining talent

Attracting and retaining talent is one of the great business management strategies. Through it, you will be able to retain employees and count on teams committed to the success of the institution. In addition, it will have excellent work developed by talents, extracting from each employee the best that he has to offer.

In order to achieve this loyalty, however, it is necessary to be aware of some factors - among them, the attractiveness of your business. After all, if the talents see better opportunities in the market, even if only in the long term, they may leave the position. In this sense, offering health insurance and educational incentives and improving the organizational climate are actions that can contribute to the maintenance of teams.

Focus on training 

In addition to having good employees, it is essential that they are trained to act according to the company's needs, understanding its specificities and knowing how to work to overcome them. This is also important so that employees are prepared for any transition process or change in the management of the family business.

In this sense, the professionalization of teams is the best way to go. A valuable tip, therefore, is to invest in training your employees. For this, it is worth promoting meetings with everyone in order to clarify the purposes of the organization or, still, count on institutions specialized in this type of service.

Conflict Mediation

The family business is usually made up of people who maintain close and affectionate bonds. For this reason, some work issues or discussions within the business environment can become more intense. Therefore, it is interesting that among the central concerns of business management are the establishment of a harmonious relationship and the mental health of employees.

It is necessary, therefore, to adopt conflict mediation techniques, create channels of dialogue and codes of conduct and establish agreements so that the relationship in the corporate environment is the best possible.

Investment in innovation

Investment in innovation has been a key part of the growth of family businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones. This is because, in a context of accelerated digital transformation and high competitiveness in the market, it is essential to differentiate yourself from other establishments.

To achieve this objective, it is worth drawing up a long-term plan aligned with the company's needs and opportunities. It is necessary to remember the importance of listening to customers in this process and of having a creative team that is attentive to market news.

Automation and technology

In order to keep up with market trends and promote a culture of innovation, it is also essential to invest in advanced automation technologies and tools. Thus, in addition to having optimized business processes and reduced operating costs, you will be able to win customers by offering agile and personalized service.

If necessary, it is worth having a specialized institution that can identify the company's demands and propose appropriate solutions. It is important to remember that automation plays a key role in freeing employees from bureaucratic tasks so that teams can turn to more essential activities.

Finally,

Family businesses are predominant in the market and play a fundamental role in the country's economy. Running a business made up of strong personal ties, on the other hand, can be challenging. There are several projects that fail to perpetuate themselves over the years due to the absence of good management.

Being attentive to the tips of differentiation in the market and team management, therefore, is a great way to get around the obstacles and carry out good management of family businesses.

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