What may be comfortable and familiar at first often has a way of doing great damage, as the old adage of 'family and business don't mix' rings true in most cases. The Family Business Unit (FBU) at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth indicates that only 30-33% of family businesses worldwide survive past the first generation, with only 4% surviving the third generation.
Why do family members struggling to make business work - is it the familiarity that makes them loosen the reins on their responsibilities or the emotions involved that cause them to act too suddenly on their feelings? Whatever it may be, it is evident that when family and business mix, sparks often tend to fly - and not always in a good way.
Yet, history has proven that there are examples of businesses where families secure success for many generations. Whether they build a business empire from scratch, as was done by Michele Ferrero (who established his world renowned chocolate confectionary brand that was made even more famous by his sons) or if it is improved on after establishment as with Ernest then Harry and then Nicky Oppenheimer; if the commitment is there, family can make a business as much as they can break one.
Fortunately, the franchising model does offer great support to business owners, thanks to the set rules and regulations that are put in place. While the owner/s will still have the responsibility to run their own business, the guidelines that are provided in the franchise agreement do supply more structure to the business than another business models generally would.
Of course, even with a tried and tested recipe in place, there are still some pointers that family can follow to ensure that their investment in the future can actually be carried over to the next generation.
Business and family can mix; it is evident in our group with our Rivonia and Rustenburg franchise owners that have family members working towards the same goals and in the same direction. It is possible for blood to be thicker than water and for family businesses to succeed - just ask the Ackermans who started Pick n Pay or the Ruperts who started the Rembrandt Group (Remgro).