Leaving work pressures at the office and family conflicts at home is easier said than done for those whose family members are also co-workers. The demands of running a small family business often compress professional life and personal time to the point where they are inextricable. Getting families
to workALL IN THE OHANA
Alan Vaughn / avaughn@starbulletin.com
How family business owners balance the combination determines the success of the business -- and of the family, proprietors say.
"Somebody once told me that if you're married and have a business, you can either have a successful business or a successful marriage," said Bob Jasper, who owns Hawaii Movie Tours Inc. with his wife, Jerri Wassink.
That dilemma has not materialized in his marriage or 5-year-old business giving guided tours of movie locations on Kauai, but an earlier venture strained a previous marriage to the breaking point. Both the growing pains of successful businesses and the financial drains of struggling ones can add pressure to the relationship.
"It's totally impossible to separate the business from our personal life," Jasper said. "If we're not sitting behind computers at work, we're sitting behind computers at home."
To compensate, Jasper said, he and his wife relax by watching movies on DVD, trying to get in one a day.
And they both get vacations -- just not together.
"There are times we talk about what it would be like to take a vacation together," he said.
Jasper and his wife had operated businesses together before and were aware of the demands, he said.
"If a married couple starts a business, they better really, really get along," Jasper said. "Seriously."
Though commonly cited figures claim family businesses account for more than 90 percent of all U.S. businesses, the definition of a family business varies widely.
According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics from 1992, the most recent available, 48.2 percent of businesses report that more than half of the business is controlled or owned by close relatives. No studies of Hawaii businesses have been completed.
For Jill and Brendan Barry, owners of Bead It! Inc. in Kaimuki, the secret to happiness at work and at home is in delegating so the two can spend time together and with their two children.
"When we first started, we had a lot of (the business) at our house, but as we've grown we've kept a lot of it under one roof," Jill Barry said. "As we've had our business longer, we've learned how to deal with it better."
The two started their bead and beading supply business in 1992 and now have seven employees. Trusting their workers to make decisions frees them to have a life outside the business, Barry said.
"It's taken time to happen," she said. "In the beginning years it was like a new baby."
For Kupono Educational Services, rallying the family to support a child with a neurological ailment provided the segue into a family tutoring business.
"It became an extension of what we did on a daily basis," said Geraldine Kunishima, who owns the South King Street business with her husband, Lindy.
The family had always openly discussed monetary and business matters, Kunishima said.
"Both of us wanted our children to be streetwise and not be in la-la land when it comes to money and real estate," she said. "Then when they are the age to do something, they know the terms."
Being in business with family members is more natural than any other way, Kunishima said.
"I can't see not getting into business with family members," she said. "Family members are who you trust."