5 things to know about asking for help for your Family Business

Every family business needs to ask for help from outside the family at some point,

Here are 5 things to know about asking for help for YOUR Family Business

1. Its Not Easy, or Even Simple

People who havenÕt LIVED in a Family Business think our issues are easy to deal with.

Sometimes theyre simple, you know, easy to explain, but theyre rarely easy to actually handle.

For a family member to reach out to an external resource is not easy or simple.

Family business culture is often inward looking, and tends to look down on asking for outside help.

2. It Takes Courage

Because of the family dynamic,

that we’re all in this together,

it takes plenty of courage to even think about bringing in an outsider to help.

They’ll wait til the pain point is so great

that it comes down to a choice between asking for help or actually walking away.

Asking for help isnÕt a sign of weakness, it’s actually a sign of courage.

3. It Starts and Ends with Trust

You’ve already got folks you trust on the outside, so if they’re not the ones who can help with the family stuff, ask them who they’d trust.

When you first contact someone, do they SEEM trustworthy?

Do they listen more than they talk?

Do you they seem down to earth, or are they full of themselves?

You also need to determine if they’ll be able to win the trust of your other family members?

4. It Could Be the Most Important Move You’ll Make

It’s normal for conflict to exist.

You probably canÕt solve all of the conflicts,

but you CAN try to understand them better, so you can manage them.

That’ll only happen when you bring in someone from the outside to sit around the table with you:

and that someone NEEDS to have a different last name.

5. If You THINK You Should, You Probably Should

So WHEN should you reach out for help?

Well, if you’ve been thinking about it, if you can feel it in your gut, trust your gut.  If you think you should, especially if you’re lying awake in bed thinking about it, then it probably IS time.

Sometimes you’ll make progress on your own, and think an outsider won’t be needed, but eventually you’ll realize that it can’t be put off any longer.

And when youÕre ready, they’ll be there for you.

That’s all for now, see you next time.