Resource Category: Recruitment and Staffing

A family business succession story with Alex Grace, MD of second generation personalised clothing company, Banana Moon. Originally created as a lifestyle business in 1993 by Alex’s parents in their home, Alex grew up amongst the business and helped out during holidays. He consequently joined the business after University taking on the role as Marketing Director to focus on growth through e-commerce. At just 27, he became Managing Director and found himself having to quickly learn how to be a leader, how to manage staff, deal with challenges and his own self-doubt, admitting “I probably wasn’t ready”. He sought external support to help him grow in confidence and competence, but struggled to implement change under his father’s watch. Keen to evolve the business purpose and culture in his own way, Alex knew it was critical to find people that were the right ‘fit’; ultimately removing individuals that weren’t. This made a profound effect on the company. Despite his successes in business, Alex confesses that his ongoing challenge is with the mind and overcoming the voice that questions “Am I good enough?” Alex talks about his approach to dealing with self-doubt and how he focuses his ambition for the future.