Break the Negative Stereotype: the Benefits of Running a Family Business

The issue of running a family business is always a sensational topic. People have watched a lot of tedious family dramas on televisions. One of the typical plots is the exaggerated conflict between family members who are struggling with each other for property and authority. However, there are some prestigious family firms and harmonious families which are well-known all over the world. Although running a family business has some negative aspects such as family conflicts, resource restrictions and developmental limitations, the positive aspects such as the loyalty, cohesion and stability far outweigh those disadvantages. Loyalty is a positive aspect of running a family business. The reliance between family members strengthens their determination of the company’s prosperity due to their family bonds. Honora is a well-known company which pioneered the marketing of high-quality pearls to the public for 64 years. The key to Honora’s success is the family members’ reliance on one another. The family members in Honora trust each other and they have faith in their relatives and business partners. It is loyalty that reinforces their decisions. No matter how difficult it is to achieve the goal, all the family members in Honora work together to reach the company’s prosperity. According to a survey done by the University of Vermont, family owned businesses are central to the U.S economy. There are 5.5 million family businesses in the U.S. Those companies contribute 57% of the U.S GDP (FEUSA, 2011). It is obvious that the family bond is one of the paramount keys to a business boom and country’s economy. Another advantage of running a family company is cohesion. Members in a family always have common values, and this kind of solidarity could force them to share their same beliefs, so that they can contribute to their family business together to achieve this common value. For instance, Samsung is a family business which began as a small noodle business in 1938. Since

References: “Asia’s new model company”(2011) Samsung and its attractions [Online]. Available from: http://www.economist.com/node/21530984 [Accessed 17 November 2012] Breeze, B