Small Business Is Our Only Business

Christopher Hanley: Precious gems and sparkling accessories are basic business tools in this growing enterprise. But the shimmering jewels in the crown of this successful small business are not the necklaces and earrings for sale, but the relationship between the entrepreneurs.

Cerese Dolman: It’s just really beneficial to know you have someone in your corner who is willing to go through the thick and thin, who trust you, you trust them.

Deborah Dolman: Being together and working together in the business have to really given off another way to communicate with each other and trade ideas and thoughts and you know, really just get to know each other on a different levels. It’s been wonderful.

Christopher Hanley: The Dolmans are among the growing number of family based small firms. While father and sons were long considered the basic entrepreneurial pairing, the phenomenal success of women owned enterprises are creating a new business basic. Mother-daughter teams, for the Dolmans duo, this entrepreneurial spark began early as the single mother tried to spend as much time with her daughter as possible. As she stood in her mother’s side watching and learning, another generation of entrepreneurs was born.

Cerese Dolman: The entrepreneur in me came from my mother. She’s had her own business for some 20 years and I grew up going to her business, you know summer vacations and off from college, I would be there, so I always got the inspiration and so how her business work, how she treated her employees and how wonderful it was to have your own business, not have to interned anyone else and that was just inspiration enough.

Christopher Hanley: A partnership was not the original plan, but the mother-daughter duo believes their business relationship has many benefits.

Cerese Dolman: Benefits are we know each other so well. We know our strength and weaknesses from each other. It’s helpful to have someone whose can tell you the truth, tell you what they think, and even when you don’t want to hear it.

Deborah Dolman: We mentor each other. I just look at her sometimes and marvel at the way things flow out of her mind, from to her creativity.

Christopher Hanley: Not everything is smooth sailing for the two as with any relationship, there are challenges.

Cerese Dolman: The most challenges, you know because she’s my mother, she wants to tell me what to do. That’s pretty simple.

Deborah Dolman: We do really well, I mean she you know gets mad at me for 10 minutes and I get mad at her for 8 and then by time 15 minutes rolls around, we’re back as best friends again.

Christopher Hanley: There are some tips for family members who want to join entrepreneurial forces.

Pick the proper partner, owning and operating in a small business can be tough and tough relationships so make an effort to keep work and family issues separate. One way to do this is to put it in writing, create a business plan and job descriptions. Don’t put family members on the pay roll if they’re not working in the company or can’t make a real contribution to the business.

In a family owned firm, special favors to family can de-motivate employees. As your business grows, think of the future and the family relationships in your company. If you seek investors or go public, dealing with family members will be questioned.

I’m Christopher Hanley for SBTV.com where Small Business Is Our Only Business.