We’ve all heard that hiring family is a bad idea. And the reasons make sense: family members might not take the work seriously, they’ll expect special treatment, or a family dispute will rear its ugly head during staff meetings.
Despite these very real concerns, in my experience, there are a number of advantages to having your own flesh and blood on your team. In my three years as a startup entrepreneur, I have made use of the talents of three of my siblings. I’ve even hired two of them full time to handle marketing and communications for my online advertising company, GraphicBomb. It may seem risky to some, but I have never regretted my decision to hire family.
Popular consensus aside, here are my top five reasons I think it’s a good idea to bring a family member onto your team.
They Believe in You and Your Vision
No one close to you wants you to fail, and that’s especially true of a parent, sibling, cousin or other family member. They’ve been with you through graduations, first jobs and various steps in your proverbial move up the ladder. A family member you hire will want to see your business do well, and will go the extra mile to help in whatever way they can. Family members will be more invested in your success.
It can be a challenge to hire talent in the beginning stages of building a company. When I started GraphicBomb, I was lucky that my sister Karen believed in what I was doing and worked evenings to help me get the company off the ground. It would have been impossible for me to hire someone off the street who had the same level of passion.
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Dave Boehl is a digital media entrepreneur in the online advertising space. He’s the founder and CEO at GraphicBomb, an online media publisher and performance ad network helping travel advertisers such as airlines, booking sites, hotels, and cruise lines reach consumers with high travel booking intent.
BusinessCollective, launched in partnership with Citi, is a virtual mentorship program powered by North America’s most ambitious young thought leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and small business owners.