For some, family businesses mean spending more quality time with their families, financial freedom and so much more while for others it feels like a prison sentence. There are so many pros and cons, positives and negatives and so we wanted to create a space for folks who have experiences with family businesses to discuss the pros and cons.

Josh Pittam
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So Pittam Heating is a family run business – we founded back in April 2014 – after our respective companies made us redundant during the UK recession. Not many places were taking on plumbing or heating engineers and cuts were being made. My Dad had been in the industry for over 25 years at that point, but always for a company. We made the decision to unite and build a partnership, honestly – at that point more so that we could survive the recession and not face financial difficulties. The first few years were difficult, we relied on word of mouth and the fortune of friends and family passing on our information and getting our name out there to grow. My mother does our networking in the BNI group and my wife does all of our admin, invoicing, appointments, keeping tabs on money and generally organising us. Read more>>

Trevor Elder

Through and through, Champ Camp is a family business. If I’m being honest, arranging it in any other way proved to be quite challenging over the years [although necessary, which I’ll get to later :) ]. When we started in 2012, I headed up beach camp operations with the help of my two brothers (Bryce & Hayden), along with many of their friends. My then girlfriend (and now wife, Ali!) also had a big hand in helping Champ Camp find its footing during those first few seasons. Read more>>

Jorjanne Paulk

Paulk Vineyards is the brand name for our family business, which is made up of multiple farms, as well as a manufacturing facility and winery. My husband’s late grandfather began growing muscadine grapes in the early 1970s, and this year, we’re celebrating our 50th harvest! My father-in-law and his brother continue to grow the muscadines, while my husband handles all the processing, from making wine and juices to dietary supplements and ingredients. In 2017, we began making wine and opened our tasting room here on the farm in 2019. I began managing the tasting room and planning events in 2020. Our oldest son is currently in college, majoring in crop production, so that he can continue growing the legacy of Paulk Vineyards, and we are very excited about it! Read more>>

Megan Bernard

Family business can and will work with the right individuals. I would recommend family businesses to those able to let the start of the work day signify the separation between family matters and business. For my family, cooking has always been a bonding event and a way to connect with each other. The kitchen is where a lot of conversations take place and traditions are passed down. I would absolutely hire my child to be apart of our team. As a parent, we are suppose to provide opportunities for our kids and prepare them for the real world. Read more>>

Isabella Mariani

In 2020, my mom, sister, and I opened Salon Mariani. We definitely had hesitations opening a small family business, but it was the best decision ever. There’s been a learning curve for sure, but we are three years in and I think we have it down pretty good! Because we are family, we’re not afraid to tell each other how we actually feel or what we want to change, which is definitely a pro and con! We also know each other better than anyone and that helps us work as individuals without getting in each others way, but we also aren’t afraid to ask for help. It’s easy to take work home as a family and discuss what we can do better or differently, but we have learned to keep work at work and only discuss the necessities outside of the salon. I absolutely love working with my mom and sister and I would be so honored if I had children in the future who wanted to work with me! Read more>>

Jason Grayer

When we started our entrepreneurship journey, we knew that the whole family would play an instrumental role. What we did not anticipate was how impactful it would be for everyone. We have learned that having family carve out their role, as opposed to being told what to do, works best. For example, when we ran our Summer Camp in 2022 we had no idea how much our daughter would embrace being at the Camp everyday. She wound up coordinating the activities throughout each day with the campers. There was a time when I told her to stay home and enjoy HER Summer but she stated that going to the Gym with Camp was how she wanted to spend her Break. It was a very heart-warming moment for our family. Read more>>