“This is a family business.” You see this a lot on company websites and in their publicity. They see it as a fundamental virtue, conjuring up images of a tight-knit unit built on the kind of intimate trust you couldn’t necessarily take for granted outside your blood relations.

To a greater or lesser extent, this may be true. It depends on individual factors. One definition of a family business is:

A commercial organisation in which management decisions are made or influenced by multiple generations of a family.

Generally, you think of a family business as having various family members officially involved or employed in it. But really, every business is a family business, because the family of the founder or owner is affected by the running of the business.

Business pressures are the cause of stresses and strains in family life. Over half of business owners have experienced poor mental health, working long hours and facing financial worries. Inevitably, this can impact their lives at home and therefore the lives of their loved ones.

Consequently, regardless of whether an enterprise is officially set up as a family business, the family is still a highly significant factor.

The hidden struggle

A problem shared is a problem halved — it’s a glib saying and a cliché but, like most clichés, it contains a kernel of truth.

When business owners and founders fail to share their worries, they seal up the safety valve. The pressure builds. And even though they may think they’re hiding their struggles successfully, the people around them can sense that something’s wrong.

This creates tension. The tension builds. Something must give…

How do you depressurise the situation?

Let’s think about business values. A great many businesses state that trust is one of their core values — building trust, being trustworthy, creating trusted relationships with their customers etc.

Trust comes from transparency. Or rather, without transparency, you can’t have trust.

So, to depressurise their lives, business owners must be transparent at home. They must trust in the relationships they have to support them.

“But my wife/partner/kids doesn’t/don’t understand the business,” you reply.

It’s not about your loved ones understanding the nuts and bolts. It’s about them feeling invested in your success because they know why you’re doing it: for them.

Reframe your purpose

Consider your why:

• Why did you start this business in the first place?

• Why do you still dedicate so much of your time and energy to it?

• Why do you care about it?

In business, as in life, our values can shift. We change as human beings and the world around us changes too.

You might, for example, not have had a family when you started your business, or had a different lifestyle. Your business might have been your chief focus, and you didn’t have as many other, personal commitments to fulfil.

That initial hunger for success at pretty much any cost often dissipates. Life has a habit of getting in the way of our visions and ideals.

Don’t measure success in terms of how well you stick to your original plan. Measure it instead by how well you adapt your business vision to fit in with your evolving lifestyle. What you want from business and what you want from life form a dynamic relationship: there must be give and take, adaptability and compromise.

Flexibility is a sign of strength.

Reconnect your business with who you are as a person and what your family needs you to provide — reframe your purpose to reflect the value your business should offer as a provider.

The next time you start to think about what will make your business more successful, stop. Pause and take a step back. Then ask yourself:

Is my business’s success linked to what I want to achieve in life and how I provide for my family?

Challenge your perspective

Empathy is a prized quality, but it’s much misunderstood. It’s not some cuddly quality to show you care about someone else’s feelings. True empathy means understanding what it’s like to be that other person, to see things from their perspective.

Typically, it also requires you to challenge your own viewpoint. As a business owner, seeing things from your family’s perspective can be hard — they don’t necessarily see the business’s nuts and bolts, only the emotional impact it has on you and them.

You cannot afford to dismiss this non-business perception of your business. It has real, day-to-day consequences for your family’s wellbeing.

Every business is a family business.

The clarity to connect

The Agnentis approach to business growth is about getting to know you inside out, blending intensive coaching with strategic financial know-how and guidance.

We help you gain the clarity to connect your personal needs to your business growth to support you, your family and your business.

Contact us today for coffee and a chat.