Small Family Business Relationships
Looking for advice from other family-owned construction businesses: How do you separate family from employees and create accountability? We are a small family-owned construction business that I started about 11 years ago. I come from a family of nine kids, plus our parents, and over the years most of us have worked in the company at one point or another. Building the business from the ground up has taught me a lot—one of the biggest lessons being that family does not always work well together in business, and I can't create a position for or help everyone just because we're related. Over the years, I've gone through several employees both inside and outside the family, but somehow we always seem to fall back to the same two or three people carrying most of the workload. I understand that finding good employees is difficult in general, especially in construction, and our industry has its ups and downs. But instead of blaming everything on the labor market, I've been trying to look internally and figure out what problems within our company may be creating bottlenecks or preventing us from growing. One issue I keep coming back to is the family dynamic. Our family is extremely close. Most of the nine siblings see each other every few days. We play bar-league sports together, attend birthdays and holidays together, and spend a lot of time around each other outside of work. Because of that, it can be difficult to maintain the mindset of, "At work, this is my boss—not just my brother or friend." For the most part, I think we do a decent job separating business from personal life, but it gets complicated when spouses or other family members get involved in discussions about pay, company vehicles, hours, responsibilities, etc. For example, let's say one of my brothers normally clocks out at 3:30 PM. At 5:00 PM, a customer calls because a breaker was accidentally left off or a jobsite wasn't cleaned up properly. If I call and ask him if he can go back and correct it—and he's being paid for his time—it sometimes creates tension at home. The attitude can become, "You own the company, so anything outside normal hours should be your responsibility." That's just one example, but it illustrates the larger problem. I've mentioned that if nobody wants to occasionally volunteer for those situations, then we may eventually need formal on-call rotations, or employees may have to leave company vans at the shop so another person can access the tools and vehicle if needed. Another challenge is flexibility. I'm a big family person myself, so I've always tried to be extremely understanding with everyone, whether they're family or not. Doctor appointment? Go. Need to leave early for your kids? No problem. Need personal time during the busy season? I usually try to make it work. The problem is that I sometimes feel that flexibility becomes expected instead of appreciated. Then, on the rare occasion where I genuinely can't allow two people to take off at the same time or I need someone to stay and finish something, I get pushback—especially from family employees. I've also noticed a similar problem with some non-family employees. We've had several good employees who seemed motivated when they started, but after about six months they became comfortable, expectations slowly changed, and accountability became harder. Pay is another difficult subject. When I'm negotiating compensation with a sibling, it's hard not to feel like I'm personally controlling their financial situation. If I tell an employee what a position is worth, I'm making a business decision. But when it's your brother or sister, it can feel personal to them—and sometimes to me too. It becomes even harder because some family members see what we're billing customers and think the difference between the hourly labor rate and their paycheck is pure profit. They don't always understand everything that comes out of that revenue: payroll taxes, insurance, workers' comp, office staff, estimating time, vehicles, fuel, tools, equipment, warranty work, callbacks, advertising, software, shop expenses, non-billable hours, and hopefully some actual profit left over for the company. So I've been considering making a major change in how I operate at work. I'm wondering if I need to redefine myself completely while I'm on the clock—less "brother/friend/family member" and more strictly "owner/boss." Maybe that means discussing very little business outside of work and creating a much clearer separation between our personal relationships and our working relationships. Before I go that far, I'd really like advice from people who have dealt with this successfully. For those of you who own family businesses, especially in construction or the trades: How do you separate the family relationship from the employee/employer relationship? How do you set and negotiate pay scales when employees can see what the company is charging customers? How do you explain overhead and company profit without feeling like you have to defend every dollar? How do you prevent employees—family or not—from becoming complacent after they've been with you for a while? Have you used an outside HR company, consultant, or PEO to handle things like pay structures, policies, reviews, discipline, and employee concerns? Could an outside HR person realistically act as a middle ground between employees and ownership so everything doesn't have to come directly through me? I'm not looking to stop being close with my family. That's one of the most important things in my life. I'm trying to figure out how to build a professional company with clear accountability without damaging those relationships in the process. I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through something similar—what worked, what didn't, and what you would have done differently.Before You Give Up on Your Dream, Read This.
There was a moment in my life when I was physically run over by a garbage truck. Most people would assume that was the hardest part of my story. It wasn’t. The hardest part was choosing not to let that moment define the rest of my life. Instead of giving up, I got back up. I went back to school—twice. I invested in myself when it would have been easier to make excuses. I kept learning, kept growing, and kept chasing a vision that only I could see. Every setback became another reason to work harder, not quit. If you’re an entrepreneur reading this, I want you to know something: The journey will test you. There will be days when the money isn’t there. Days when nobody believes in your vision. Days when you question yourself. Days when you wonder if you’re falling behind. But don’t confuse a delay with defeat. Some of the greatest victories are being built in seasons where no one is clapping for you. I like to think of life as a rose. Before anyone admires its beauty, it must first push through the darkness beneath the soil. It endures storms, strong winds, and little insects trying to destroy its roots before it ever blooms. Entrepreneurship is no different. Critics will come. Failures will come. Rejections will come. Doubt will come. But if your roots are grounded in faith, purpose, and perseverance, nothing can stop what God has planted within you. So if you’re feeling discouraged today… Keep showing up. Keep learning. Keep sharpening your craft. Keep believing in the dream that was placed on your heart. One day, people will see the flower. They’ll celebrate the success. But only you—and God—will know everything it took to bloom. To every entrepreneur in this community: don’t give up on yourself. Your story isn’t over. Your purpose still matters. And what you’re building today may become the blessing someone else needs tomorrow. 🌹💙Building a consistent customer experience before hiring my first tech
Hey everyone, I’m Shaun, owner of Integrity Garage Doors & Gates in Arizona. I’m still early in the journey, but I’m trying to build the business the right way before scaling. One thing I’m focused on is creating a repeatable customer experience so every homeowner gets the same level of communication, professionalism, and education — even before I hire my first technician. Right now, I’m building around a few core systems. For those of you who have grown from solo operator to your first employee or first crew, what systems or habits helped you keep the customer experience consistent? What do you wish you had documented earlier?How do you currently showcase your work?
What if you could showcase your work without stopping what you're doing to constantly pull out your phone? Imagine wearing smart glasses that could help capture your work as you build, install, repair, weld, wire, paint, cut, create, and solve problems throughout the day. Now imagine those photos and videos helping you build a professional portfolio that contractors, employers, and customers could discover. Would you use something like that? 🤔 A few questions: How do you currently showcase your work? • Have photos or videos of your work ever helped you get a job, customer, or opportunity? • Would you wear smart glasses if they could help document your work automatically? • If a platform helped skilled trades workers get discovered based on their actual work instead of just a resume, would you join? I'm curious to hear honest feedback from workers across all trades. What would make a platform like this valuable enough for you to use? 👇 Drop your thoughts in the commentsConstruction Contractor: Drowning in the abyss of AI consumers
Hello! I’m new to the site, but I joined searching for answers to a lingering question. Are there any specific sites that I can register for to be able to contact prospective clients and send bids in my area? Facebook is flooded with people who consistently undercut me on price but are not as good on professionalism or product quality. Whether it be residential properties or commercial? I’ve recently downsized and have been stuck sub-contracting for a larger business devoting all of my time and making pennies on the dollar. The financial strain of the decision has been weighing on me heavily. My wife has lost faith in our construction business, but I can’t help but to reminisce about how successful we were when we were at full operation with 6-10 guys. I can’t just give up on the dream. Anyone on here able to show us how we can make this embed of hope into a wildfire? We specialize in all niche trades in the construction industry, yes all from form to finish. There’s no lack of drive and determination, just direction.New Generation Problems: How do you train and manage younger employees in the trades?
How are you guys dealing with the newest generation coming into the trades. I feel like these guys have intelligence, they ask very good questions but my answers leave them looking like a deer in the headlights. No information seems the be retained, and it seems like they are unable to work independently without continuous instructions. have not found a good way to get through to them, seems they are only here for the paycheck and no one considers acquiring knowledge and skill as an asset anymore. What have you been experiencing?
NEW MEMBER INTRODUCTION
Hey everyone — I run Dream West Projects out of the Sea-to-Sky in BC. I focus on renovations and I’m currently scaling into multi-unit and larger contracting work. Looking forward to connecting with others in the industry and learning from the community. www.dreamwestprojects.com
