🚨 Nugget alert for family-owned businesses 🚨
This amazing interview by Sam Oches and Chip Graeter revealed incredible insights for any family business aspiring to be around forever. Here are 3 crucial lessons (plus one bonus lesson) I learned from working nearly 20 years at Graeter's Ice Cream
💡 1. Unlock Your Core Values and Never Compromise
Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing, especially when it is challenging. As your business scales, stick to your core values and commitment to excellence. This builds an intentional culture that strengthens your reputation, earns customer trust, and fortifies your family legacy. Remember, you are building a brand, not just making a sale.
💡 2. Get the Right People in the Right Seats
Bringing the right mix of family and external experts into your business can make all the difference. Ensure that each key position is filled by someone who not only fits the role (gets it, wants it, has the capacity to do it) but also shares the vision of where you're going and how you're going to get there. This includes preparing the next generation by encouraging them to gain experience outside the business, broadening their perspectives, and enhancing their skills to better contribute upon their return.
💡 3. Preserve the Core and Stimulate Progress:
While you must honor the traditions that define your family business, staying relevant requires innovation and adaptability. Focus on your customers' evolving needs, explore new markets, and be willing to update old practices. Doing so ensures your business not only preserves its core values but also remains vibrant and competitive in a changing market.
💡 Bonus Lesson: Be an awesome human being. This includes appropriately putting profits back into the business instead of taking them out for extravagant personal use. The right people will want to work harder for you. Customers will want to do more business with you. The community will want you to succeed.
Thank you Chip Graeter, Richard Graeter, and Robert Graeter for setting such an incredible example by being awesome human beings. I wouldn't be where I am today without their guidance. 🧡
What are your tips for driving success in a family business? Share your stories below!
Thank you to Sam Oches for having us on the latest episode of Take-Away. Take an inside look of Graeter's Ice Cream and the history of our family business with Chip Graeter!
Group Director, Editorial at Informa's Restaurant & Food Group
3moBig fan of the brand and such a pleasure to catch up with Chip!