Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/459961
18 | Boating Industry | February 2015 [ All in the family ] www.BoatingIndustry.com people-based skills, whether it's customers or employees, and Bill is budget-oriented. Trusting each other's strengths has been a huge compo- nent towards the success of BMC Boats. "Find your strengths and use those strengths," said Paula. "If you're determined that your strengths are exactly the same, it's going to be quite a hassle." A whole different playing field It can be difficult to work with your children and manage family relationships, but know that if you're feeling stressed you're not alone. "I used to think that … we were the only ones experiencing the challenges of having four family members in the business. I have come to realize in getting to know other families in the marine industry and talking with some of the parents and the younger generations that it really is across the board," said Nancy Smith, owner and vice president of Colorado Boat Center. Smith and her husband and co-owner Tom have two adult children working in the business: Eric and Ashley Smith. They have worked at Colorado Boat Center for nine and eight years, respectively, not including the many years they spent washing boats. Josh Vallely, general manager at Vallely Ma- rine, believes it is impossible to keep those rela- tionships 100 percent separate. "Most of us play in this industry when we are not working, so our family hobbies are also engrained in the business we do," said Vallely. Vallely highlights the importance of estab- lishing relationships amongst family members in areas that don't involve business topics. "Spouses, kids, or family members not as- sociated in the business don't need every family gathering to be a business meeting," said Vallely. Larry works with his spouse, his son, his son-in-law and his grandson-in-law, and he says it's a whole different playing field when it comes to managing business relationships with your children. "Sometimes that [parenting aspect] still gets in the way even though they're 40 and on their own," said Larry. "Sometimes you have to say stuff that boy, you wish there was some way you didn't have to." Colorado Boat Center recently dealt with some difficult decisions regarding their children. Eric Smith was previously in position to work toward ownership of the business but became unhappy in the role. He left the dealership for six months and eventually came back with an expressed interest to not be in an ownership role. He is now the office manager. Smith described the experience of Eric leav- ing as "really tough." There was some initial ap- prehension about his return but it has worked very well for the business with Eric in a role that makes him happy. "It took a while for everyone to realize he wasn't coming back in the same role," said Smith. "Once there was enough time to see things in the different setting, there was a lot of ease for everyone's part." Even and especially when times get tough, communication is critical to keeping the relation- ships working. The conversation can be hard to initiate but it's important to be direct. Carly Poole, operations manager at Buckeye Marine, comes from a different point-of-view as she works with her mother in the dealership and previously worked with her father and uncle. However, she also views the communication be- tween family members as crucial and stresses the need for both generations to understand from what perspective they're speaking when work- ing in a family business. "Are they speaking as a … mother-daughter, mother-son, father-son … or are they wearing the boss/co-worker/manager hat?" said Poole. "Because those are very different conversations." Whatever the case, having very clearly-defined roles that all generations understand is exception- ally important, said Poole. This goes as well for family members' positions within the business. "It's not always the best decision to have a parent manage their kid. Sometimes it is. My mom is my manager and that works fine," said Poole. "But our sales manager is my brother's manager and that works fine as well." Managing cross-generational relationships in the dealership also means managing expectations. "Don't expect any more from your family members than you do from the rest of your em- ployees and vice versa," said Smith. "The family members should not be expecting any more of the owners [too]." Managing expectations across generations has helped the Smith family work well together. "Don't expect any more from your family members than you do from the rest of your employees and vice versa. The family members should not be expecting any more of the owners [too]." — Nancy Smith, owner and vice president of Colorado Boat Center