Driver Lifestyles

Riding With Family: A Blessing and Another Kind of Blessing?

Regardless of the industry you’re working within, it’s not too uncommon for families to work together--especially when you’re talking about small businesses.  Expediters and owner/operators fall into this category at somewhere close to a 100% clip.  

Working with family members presents a set of advantages and obstacles that’s been somewhat widely discussed; at the same time, the situation of working with family members maybe isn’t something that one weighs the pros and cons of when it’s in discussion.  Working with family, no matter the relationship, can prove to be an intensely personal affair--even in the face of cold business decisions.  This is why it can be pretty important to take a step back from time to time so that you can take a close look at how well it’s working for you at any given time.  

As those of you who’ve been working with family members for some time probably know, without that kind of care and thought, things can get kind of sticky at times.  Entrepeneur.com provides a list of things you’ll likely have to watch out for:
You've been privy to intimate information about them. You've most likely had arguments or negative conflicts with them. You have years of experiences with them, both positive and negative. You know the other person's "hot and cold buttons." Maybe you don't like your relative or, conversely, you're very close with that person, which means you could either be overly critical or overly protective of them. You may provide too much supervision or teamwork--or you may provide too little. Another article I came across provides a reasonably simple formula on how to best manage working with family members.  Now, it goes into a bit more detail about these items, but like I said, it’s pretty simple:

Keep family-related issues out of the workplace. Keep business-related issues out of the home. Be as objective as possible.  
Now, I realize that’s easier said than done, and it’s probably a hair oversimplified, but these three items are pretty much what’s at the root of any advice you’re likely to find about working with members of your family.  If both you and your family members are doing your best to stick to these three guidelines, I’d be willing to bet that you’re less likely to fall into the horror-story-like pitfalls we’ve all heard about time and time again.  

That said, family businesses are nearly synonymous with small business in general--and they’re something of a time-honored tradition woven into the fabric of the American experience.  Expediting, despite being the “different animal” that it is--in just about every imaginable way--still compares quite well to the rest of the business world in this respect.  If you’re looking to run team, who better to spend large amounts of time in relatively tight quarters than those you’re spending time with at home?  For many, this might be a tad oversimplified (something I have kind of a knack for), but it’s certainly a reasonable assumption to make.  It’s not uncommon for husband-wife teams to work as owner/operators in the expediting industry, and from what I can tell, those teams seem to work well together and find that running team as a family is everything that they could possibly want it to be.  

Of course, this isn’t to say that problems can’t or won’t necessarily arise--and as I noted above, there’s no shortage of tips, pointers, and lists as to how to best keep your family and business together on both the business and personal fronts.  

Take this list from the National Federation of Independent Business, which covers a more “traditional” workplace (i.e., the office), but each of the items in the list are easily translated into expediting terminologies.  Well, mostly. 

Hire based on merit. If you’re looking at family members to ride with you as a team, you’ll want to choose someone who’ll be comfortable working with you, with riding long distances in close quarters, and who’s comfortable with your idiosyncracies (as well as you being comfy with theirs).  This will go a long way.  Set boundaries early.  The NFIB’s list says about boundaries, “The best time to establish the parameters for any relationship is when the relationship begins.”  What they mean by this is that you’ll want to work out just how you’re going to work with your family member.  In other words, you need a plan--it doesn’t necessarily have to be written--outlining what each of you expects of the other person.  This way, everyone gets what they need out of the working relationship in a way that’s both efficient and works for everyone.   Be open about the relationship. The NFIB’s referring here to hiring practices and HR applications here, but as an owner/operator who’s working with a carrier or carriers, they’ll need to know the nature of your relationship as it relates to your work--at least to some extent.  Part of the draw of expediting is the freedom that comes along with it, but your carrier will need to know a thing or two to this end.   Differentiate business discussions. This item goes back to that fundamental “List of Three” that I noted above--and conveniently wraps them into one item here.  Keep business and home separate, and objectivity is vital.  Again, easier said than done, but when it’s business time, it’s time to be wearing the business hat.  Provided your boundaries have been set and the two of you have a plan in place, this should be an easily-managed experience.   Running team with family members can be a rewarding experience.  You get time alone, you get to be with loved ones--those you’re ostensibly spending your life with.  Expediting holds a unique sort of freedom that is obviously difficult to come across in other lines of work, so it only makes sense that it’s a fairly easy decision to want to do with your family.  Despite whatever difficulties may arise, there’s always the fact that you’re family to fall back on.