Development of a family business

What are the next steps in the evolution of a family business?

Did you know that IKEA, Ford and Dr. Oetker are family businesses? Many surnames are also the names of globally famous family businesses we trust. We believe in families. Family is loyal and creates a sense of belonging. Family businesses are reliable, resistant and approachable. The confidence they emit beats other companies.

To build a family brand means to successfully launch a sincere backstory. The recognition of a family business begins with its history and is based on continuity. Devoted work is passed onto younger generations who continue with the family mission. The stability created by a long conservative orientation and financial discipline is unsurpassed. The communication within a family business is open. Work distribution is simple. Motivation is exceptionally strong. Their perseverance is possibly the biggest advantage. A patient and devoted work cannot be replaced. The initiative is their big advantage, decisions are made quickly and all members assume responsibility. Their reputation is critical. Multigenerational perspective and longevity are reasons for their resilience to all troubles. Maintaining a family tradition and values is not only a profitable, but also a noble goal. If you want to make your parents proud, start a family business!

How to incorporate family philosophy in your business?

Where are you now, what is your starting capital, what are your resources? Analyse the current state. Now imagine yourself where you want to be. Think about what is the most important to you, what principles you want to live and do business by. These are the values that will forever remain the core mission of your family business. How do you imagine its ideal future? This is your development vision that will change according to decisions through which you determine the future direction. Led by determination and passion for a quality performance of the biggest life project, be realistic when assessing your abilities. The tool that will help you accomplish your mission (through your vision) is analysis: what are your advantages, limitations, possibilities, what problems may occur? Think about the time period during which you want to achieve your goals, think long-term. Focus on desired results. Each successful project begins with planning. Strategic planning encompasses your goals and future plans, desired methods for achieving results and assessing them. The goal is to organise the future of your company in a long-term direction. What are your priorities? What is the most important from all the nice things you desire? What do you need the most, and what is your wish? How will you concentrate your resources, on which areas will you focus your activity? Eliminate everything you do not need! When you are left with what is crucial, describe specific activities for the realisation of an individual priority and work on them. Define resources: who will do what, using what equipment, what is the budget? It is not enough to know your goals; you need to think about how you will realise them and about all the little steps on your way. Dive into your project bravely!

How to finance the development of a family business?

Budgeting is the basis for your plan. Whether you are starting a family business or developing an existing one, you will need financing. Up to a certain point, families often rely on their own funds, but as the company is growing, they need larger investments. In such cases, the financing may come from financial institutions. In order to get financing, you will need to prepare a good business plan that will present your ROI ability to the bank. In Liberfin, we take care of all communication with banks for our clients. In addition to preparing a business plan, as a starting point, we negotiate with the bank on the terms of financing and try to make the period from submitting a request to the realisation of the loan as short as possible.

We often continue to cooperate with our partners, after their financing is approved. We advise them on how to plan their business, direct cash flows, give them specific advice on how to increase their profitability. Our work philosophy includes the basic principle of “your money’s worth”, just like in family businesses.