Back in the twenty-first century, Jacob Saunders from Abbey Attachments and Olivia Doherty from The Plastic Bottles Company volunteered to provide a next gen perspective, answering questions from the audience about their experience of establishing themselves in their family businesses.

The discussion covered territory that was recognisable to most people in the room. We heard about the challenge of proving yourself when people assume you’re only there because of your surname, and the guilt that can come with that. They also talked about ‘the moment’ when you realise that you are adding value and doing something that your parents couldn’t.   For both of our panellists this had come when colleagues started looking to them for answers.

 

The question of recommending and implementing change came up a lot. How do you challenge “we’ve always done it that way” from parents or from colleagues? When is the right time to start suggesting improvements, and how do you navigate the discomfort of being seen as entitled or presumptuous?

Another theme that emerged strongly was how unique the pressure of working in a family business is.  Mistakes don’t just affect your job; and you can’t just walk away.  Some in the room talked about feeling they’d had to work harder than everyone else, and the frustration knowing non-family staff don’t feel the same weight of responsibility.

Advice to others joining family businesses was clear: start from the bottom, earn respect from colleagues who were there before you, and learn to separate family from business.