Moffatt and Powell take home title for Family Enterprise of the Year

Ivey’s Business Families Centre Director Dave Simpson opened the 10^th Annual National Business Family Day Celebration by asking the close to 200 guests to reflect on their most definitive moments. A room full of successful business families certainly had plenty to think back on. And perhaps, David Powell, his daughter Nancy Powell Quinn and her husband D'Arcy Quinn could mark this day as one of theirs.

The three owners of Moffatt & Powell Limited were named this year’s Southwestern Ontario Family Enterprise of the Year by a panel of family business educators, advisors and leaders setup by the Canadian Association for Family Enterprise (CAFE) Southwestern Ontario.

Although it was a tough decision to leave their successful careers to take over the family business, it wasn’t a sacrifice. For Powell Quinn, it had to do with the family legacy; and for her husband, it was a new challenge and a new opportunity.

Here are the key lessons from this year’s Southwestern Ontario Family Enterprise of the Year.

Five key takeaways from a successful family business

1. Work outside the family business before taking a leadership role
   Knowing what it’s like to work in other settings gives you a fresh perspective to bring to the family business. You also must understand what it’s like to be managed by a non-family member, in order to manage your staff effectively. As Powell said: “You have to be able to sign the back and the front of the pay cheque.”
2. Chase your passion before chasing your legacy
   Go after your personal pursuits and passions before investing in the family business. At 19, Powell Quinn knew she was interested in her father’s enterprise, but she wanted to explore other pursuits first. Later, she could return without doubts she was doing the right thing.
3. Fit is as important as family
   For the success of the business, you must make sure the next generation fits with the direction you see the company headed. Powell said that extending the family business to his son-in-law was as much about their similar values and philosophies as it was about their family connection.
4. Business and Family become intertwined
   Understand that the boundaries between family and business become fluid. Business discussions do happen at the dinner table, but it’s a worthwhile tradeoff for getting to have your family in the office.
5. Having a non-family manager on the team adds value
   Having a non-family member on the management team helps to keep things more professional than personal when facing tough challenges and making difficult decisions.