All in the Family: Managing a Franchise Business When Your Family Members Are Your Employees

Running a family franchise business can be tricky if you imagine it as an extension of your family’s at-home dynamics. There clearly needs to be separation between the behaviors, attitudes, and relationships that exist between you and your family employees over the dinner table at Thanksgiving and in the workplace.

When properly utilized, there are a ton of advantages to taking family bonds and moving them to a professional setting. Consider this: Picking the right business partner, in general, is like trying to find the proverbial needle in the haystack. You need someone who’s dependable, trustworthy, loyal, and responsible; who shares your values; and who balances out your weaknesses.

Topics of Discussion

• Effectively Managing a Family Franchise Business
• Effectively Delegate Roles and Tasks from the Beginning
• Keep the Gossip and Personal Stuff Separate

1. As you’ll find out if you talk to another dynastic professional who’s passed the torch to the next generation, delegation is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to pulling off family business ownership.

2. To avoid confusion, you need to step up and make clear to everyone their role in the franchise and the kinds of tasks (be specific!) that they’ll be carrying out on a day-to-day basis. Many of the roles that family members end up doing in the context of family-run franchise locations can be undefined—and therefore potentially underappreciated. Many franchisees delegating tasks to family members might run into this scenario: One family member whose role was clearly laid out from the outset gets all the credit, while another family member works behind the scenes to do necessary yet largely (or completely) unacknowledged work. The problem: A lack of role-setting and delegation.

3. Remember how we were talking about trust, accountability, and loyalty being qualities of family members? Well, that’s true, but this can also create unexpected problems when you consider that you probably know a lot of the hidden psychology, quirks, and personal secrets of your spouse, children, brothers, sisters, or in-laws. The surprising thing is that as much as we love our family, it can be easier to get upset and let it show with a family member turned employee than with a regular coworker. Remember that when you show up to work each day, you’re there to carry out your job. One last tip: Consider taking a break from one another at the dinner table to allow time to recharge. Keep the conversation light and get ready to head back to a franchise you love!

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Disclaimer: This information is not intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, a franchise. It is for information purposes only. Currently, the following states regulate the offer and sale of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. If you are a resident of or want to locate a franchise in one of these states, we will not offer you a franchise unless and until we have complied with applicable pre-sale registration and disclosure requirements in your state. Franchise offerings are made by Franchise Disclosure Document only.