Minding Your Business: Feb. 2001, Everything's Relative

Kimicata, whose company, Kimicata Brothers, Pittsburgh, Pa., was established in 1929 by his father and uncle, has always been careful to keep family and business matters separate - to name one tricky issue family operations contend with.

Since he joined the family enterprise 30 years ago, Kimicata has always been careful to maintain a clear distinction between business and family. He observed this rule with his father, Arthur, as well as with his son, Paul, who entered the business in 1988.

For the sake of setting up healthy boundaries, “being ‘father and son’ is separate from the business relationship,” he said, adding that even when he goes out to lunch with his son during the work day, they take a break from their landscape preoccupations and just talk about sports.

ALL IN THE FAMILY. Another secret to a successful family business is delegating tasks so everyone has their defined roles, according to Kimicata. The minute his son entered the business for example, “he took over the new accounts and I handled our old accounts,” Kimicata related.

With two of his four children involved in the business, Kimicata noted that his son and daughter made the conscious decision to join the family landscape operation. “We didn’t put any pressure on any of them to go into the business,” he said. “The ones that came in, came in voluntarily. There’s nothing worse than having a job that you don’t want to do.”

Bruce Bourassa, president, The Green Co., Danvers, Mass., agreed. Bourassa, who runs his $2-million, first-generation family company with his brother, Robert, noted that operating a company with family members, in particular, requires a common vision. “You’ve got to stick with it,” he pointed out. “You put in a lot of hours, so you have to like it, enjoy it and share the mindset.”

One interesting aspect of a family business is that disagreements are more likely to happen with family members than with unrelated employees. Howard Miller, president, Howard Miller & Sons, Glenside, Pa., has found this to be true. Miller noted that his two sons are more willing to challenge him than his other employees. “I get a little more grief from our sons than from our other employees,” he laughed.

Similarly, Bourassa noted that he and his brother are more likely to get into an argument with each other than with other employees. The flip side is that they are more resilient when conflict surfaces. “We’ll fight and immediately get back to work and move forward,” Bourassa described. ”There’s always that willingness to continue.”

Kimicata added that, at times, he was at odds with his son, Paul, when he first entered the business. When one generation has conducted business the same way for years and a new generation tries to come in and change the system, there can be friction, he described. Patience and understanding are the keys to overcoming this, he said.

Having worked with his wife, Dale, since 1988, Richard Edwards, president, Gro-Green, Baton Rouge, La., has learned a thing or two about working with a spouse. From Edwards’ standpoint, the most important issue is compatibility: a husband and wife in business together have to have more in common than just marriage. “Make sure you’re both suited to the work,” he advised. “You have to have the dynamic to work closely together. You both have to contribute.”

Separating business from personal issues is always the biggest challenge, Edwards added. “Not ‘bringing it home with you’ is difficult to learn,” he observed.