National Family Business Day, 19 September, is dedicated to celebrating the vital role family-owned businesses play in our economy and communities. Family businesses are the heartbeat of Australia and New Zealand. Creating the family business difference takes dedication, sacrifice, passion and hard work, and that is something worth celebrating.
FBA CEO, Catherine Sayer sat down with Tony McManus on 3AW, 6PR and FIVEAA to chat about all things National Family Business Day. They discussed the significance of the family business sector, the opportunites of being a family business, and some of the challenges - such as succession planning - all while celebrating a number of incredible family businesses across Australia.
Take a listen to the segment below and get involved in the celebrations tomorrow, 19 September.
Access our dedicated website with information, content, key statistics, social media assets, short videos, suggested text, posters, cupcake toppers and family business stories, below.
View the transcript here:
Tony McManus
Catherine Sayer. Catherine, in her capacity as CEO of Family Business Association, in studio. Morning.
Catherine Sayer
Good morning, Tony.
Tony McManus
It's always lovely to see you. Thank you for spending a bit of time with us. A massive day coming up Friday. Tell them who, how, why, where and when. Right across Australia.
Catherine Sayer
Every year on the 19 September, it is National Family Business Day and a great day to celebrate all those family businesses out there.
Tony McManus
For those that may not be familiar, we've done a fair bit of interviews over the last couple of years with some of the leading family businesses right around Australia. It's an extraordinary sector. It's such a vital and very important sector.
Catherine Sayer
It so is. 70% of Australian businesses are family businesses and 50% of the workforce are employed by family businesses, Tony. So everywhere you look around the place, small, medium, large, you can see a family business.
Tony McManus
And so, we talk about FBA. It used to be Family Business Australia, now Family Business Association, because I think New Zealand’s involved.
Catherine Sayer
New Zealand's part of us as well.
Tony McManus
Yeah, which is lovely. And we love the New Zealand members. We do. We do love them.
Catherine Sayer
We do.
Tony McManus
The point of that is that some of these businesses go back to the late 1800s.
Catherine Sayer
There are many multi-generational businesses in Australia and it's quite incredible actually when you see that transition. And you've got some very young businesses, first generation family business, down to seven generations all over Australia and New Zealand.
Tony McManus
There would be people trying to have a bit of a nod now, going off to sleep, lying on a mattress manufactured, shipped, shaped by a family, a well-known family business.
Catherine Sayer
You're quite right. A.H. Beard.
Tony McManus
And they've been doing that for decades.
Catherine Sayer
They certainly have. I think there are at least three generations.
Tony McManus
Yeah.
Catherine Sayer
Yes, as you say, a lot of people will be sleeping on one of their mattresses.
Tony McManus
There might be people who, for example, could be enjoying a beverage from Coopers in South Australia, because we have great listeners, as you know, through 5AA in Adelaide, which is your hometown, yes?
Catherine Sayer
My hometown indeed.
Tony McManus
How's your footy team going in the SANFL?
Catherine Sayer
Ohh, SANFL, Glenelg. It could be a three out of three.
Tony McManus
Pretty happy. Good on you. We'll come back to that very shortly.
So, tell us what happens this coming Friday, how important is it and how it's commemorated, celebrated?
Catherine Sayer
So, it's largely a social media campaign. We have got a website, National Family Business Day. There are heaps of social media assets that people can use and what we're really expecting is all family businesses around Australia have the opportunity to celebrate and be loud and proud about being a family business. And the assets are there. We want everyone talking things up. We've got a couple of events happening where we're celebrating our family businesses and it's really just about lifting that profile of family businesses, because it's almost like that silent sector. You know, it's worth $4.3 trillion and family businesses are everywhere, but it's not really a highly recognised sector, so it's really important for us to celebrate every year on the 19th of September.
Tony McManus
What about a family that might own, I don't know, I'm thinking a delicatessen, are they included?
Catherine Sayer
Absolutely, any family business is a family business. A deli, for example, often a husband and wife, could be a parent and child, and they should be celebrating family business. What we know is that family businesses are the most trusted businesses, so 70% of people trust family businesses more than any other type of business. So, any business that's a family business should be celebrating that fact.
Tony McManus
One of the challenges, I guess, from your point of view as CEO, is to look at how those growth businesses brand themselves to highlight that they are a member of, or a family business going back one, two, three, four generations.
Catherine Sayer
Yes, absolutely. Our members actually display the Australian family-owned business logo, what we call ‘our emblem’, and they can put it on packaging, they can put it in the stores, they can put it in emails on their email address. They can put it everywhere. Consumers really love to hear the stories around family businesses as well.
Tony McManus
And there are many, and we've told a few of those. There was one in particular, I don't know, you would have heard it. No doubt there were people that have been involved in the markets locally, forever and ever and ever and ever. And they were fantastic on air. I think there was a father, son and a third gen. Do you remember that we had them on the programme from the markets, Jay? No, you don't. I can tell because we've had a few of them. But those remarkable stories of young people that are now running those businesses, having started as five, six, seven, eight-year-olds, growing up and watching them. Yeah, they grow up in the business.
Catherine Sayer
Absolutely. They grow up in the business. And it's interesting because we did some research that we launched earlier in the year. One of our partners, Pronto, did a barometer survey in conjunction with us. And success factors, 73% said that strong family businesses were key to their success. And then the next one, 68%, dedicated team of employees and customer loyalty. Now all of that stuff really infiltrates family, doesn’t it?
Tony McManus
What's the feedback you get in terms of the challenges in the current climate?
Catherine Sayer
Well, look, I think family businesses aren't immune to what's going on in the rest of the economy and businesses. But I think there's definitely those concerns and stresses around, you know, business efficiencies and cost of doing business. Succession planning is always one of those things in family businesses that probably doesn't, well, doesn't exist in other businesses. So that's always one of those topics that people are pretty keen to work through.
Tony McManus
Just explain that for people because that is a real challenge for many. They might start very small, they grow, and all of a sudden, we've probably seen it to a different degree, an extreme degree, recently with the Murdoch family. Tensions are there, but it does have to be managed.
Catherine Sayer
Well, the thing that I've learnt being in this role for a couple of years and talking to lots of family businesses is, communicate early, start talking about things early. So, you know, Mum and Dad could have started the business. The next generation are coming in. What does that transition plan look like? What does the succession plan look like? How is it all going to work? But it's about getting everyone comfortable with the conversation, and that's actually really the hard part. So, you know, that communication early and talking about what the options are, how it's all going to work, it’s so critical. If people don't talk about it, often there's actually a bit of a crisis event. Someone might get sick, someone might pass away and there's the ‘then what?’ And no one knows what the ‘then what’ is. And they’re under so much stress from the family situation that to then actually have the business component unresolved is really challenging.
Tony McManus
There was a great leader of this radio station, Shane Healy. He may well be listening. He would often talk to advertisers, say on 3AW, 5AA or 6PR, about the idea of people working in the business as opposed to working on the business.
Catherine Sayer
Absolutely. So, working on the business is that strategic planning. And succession planning is part of your strategic planning, where to from here and how. And then the more generations that come along, you've got cousins and then that bigger family. All of a sudden you've got a lot of family members to consider, and if you're not planning, communicating and working through it all to really the great outcome for the business and the individuals, you've got big problems.
Tony McManus
Catherine Sayer is the CEO of Family Business Association. You and I were just chatting about the big celebration coming up this Friday right around Australia, which is good because we're here. We're talking to 6PR in Perth, we're talking to 5AA in Adelaide, 3AW in Melbourne. Throughout Victoria there would be many members listening and I think my inclination is, over the years having worked with people like the great Haymes Paint, a wonderful business based in Ballarat, for example, and now run by the son-in-law and the family on the board. It's an amazing culture that the founder, David Haymes, the late David Haymes, was able to establish for that business and it's become such a much-loved brand in Ballarat, in Victoria and around Australia. That's the sentiment that I think people look for when looking to deal with some family business in Australia.
Catherine Sayer
Absolutely, Tony. You know, Haymes Paint is a great example where it’s a multi-generational family business and they've done it so well. There's so many businesses that really do it well. We're looking at celebrating later today, Haigh's Chocolates. They've built a fantastic new facility… A big multi-million dollar development that's now going to set them up for the next generation and possibly more to come.
Tony McManus
I saw some of the pictures online. They look amazing.
Catherine Sayer
Yeah, so great. You know, opening of that new facility, manufacturing facility, which is brilliant. You know, when you hear that people are celebrating their 50 years, 100 years, 175 years. Floridia Cheese, for example, here in Melbourne, has just celebrated their 70th.
Tony McManus
Yeah. What? Sorry. What's it called?
Catherine Sayer
Floridia Cheese. Great cheese. Great cheese.
Tony McManus
OK, right. And you brought in some for the tasting.
Catherine Sayer
Next time. But you know, celebrating 70 years and those sorts of things, it's just, you know, when they celebrate, it's a real celebration of a lot of blood, sweat and tears and a lot of heart.
Tony McManus
And we talk about the wine sector Yalumba.
Catherine Sayer
Yep.
Tony McManus
The great Brown Brothers or if you kid around with Ross, often referred to now as the Brown Sisters because his daughters are running each of the various versions of the great brand that is Brown Brothers wine.
Catherine Sayer
Yes, absolutely. Isn't that a great transition? You know, Brown Brothers, very traditional. And as you say, there's now the three daughters.
Tony McManus
Yeah, Henschke I think is another one.
Catherine Sayer
Yep, that's another family business, absolutely.
Tony McManus
And the culture of that, you know, is endearing, I reckon.
Catherine Sayer
A lot of employees in family businesses talk about the fact they feel like family and, in fact, the owners treat them like family. So that's a very special dynamic.
Tony McManus
On Friday, if people wanted to learn more, you can go and have a look at the website.
Catherine Sayer
Follow us on our socials.
Tony McManus
On the socials. Thank you, on the socials, website. We should just mention too, because we've had a few texts about it, the idea of the great brand which Denis Walter does a lot of work within advertising. They've been great friends of 3AW for a long time. It’s Tobin Brothers.
Catherine Sayer
Oh, absolutely.
Tony McManus
Amazing organisation. There wouldn't be a member of, certainly in Victoria, but a member around Australia now that would not be familiar with Tobin Brothers as a family business.
Catherine Sayer
Absolutely. And in fact, Brydie Hull last year, I think it was.
Tony McManus
We spoke to Brydie on the programme.
Catherine Sayer
Yeah, she's on the programme and she's a young leader in that business and to be really commended.
Tony McManus
Yeah, it's wonderful. Friday it's all about…
Catherine Sayer
Family business.
Tony McManus
Which means that if you want to know more, go online, have a look at Family Business Association, the homepage. Lots of things to learn and read about. And we should encourage, I guess, too, people who might be listening or know of family businesses to become involved as members of FBA.
Catherine Sayer
Absolutely. And you know, our membership's really growing because people are really understanding that being part of our community is a real sense of belonging.
Tony McManus
It's what it's all about. National Family Business Day coming up 19 September, which is this Friday. Thank you for coming.
Catherine Sayer
Thanks so much, Tony.
Tony McManus
It's nice to see you, Catherine. Catherine Sayer, Family Business Association.
