Episode 75: The Unique Role of Women in Family Business with Susanne Bransgrove

 
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In Episode 75, Sam talks with Family Business Specialist Susanne Bransgrove about the special role that women play in family business, and navigating the unique challenges and opportunities encountered in multi-generational enterprises.

As a third generation family business member, Susanne is Founder and Director of LiquidGold Consultants Pty Ltd, a business specializing in creating sustainable futures for family businesses. With a passion for advancing the role women play, Susanne established The Women in Family Business Network in 2019, supporting women to better manage the challenges they face in juggling their family and business roles.

Drawing on her own experiences in family business, Sam explores with Susanne the critical nature of the family dynamic in maintaining and enhancing this unique business model. Susanne identifies the potential for women to apply their intuitive understanding of relationships to this traditionally patriarchal environment, and how advisors can assist in recognizing the importance of each stakeholder within the company structure.

Listen to an excerpt

 What we cover in this episode

  • The unique challenges faced by women in family business

  • Getting to solutions from a succession perspective

  • Reshaping relationships in family business

  • The reasons family businesses break down and the pathway to change

  • The opportunity for women to support each other within a broader network

  • The Role of the Matriarch

  • Tips for advisors to family businesses

Quotes

“Good business comes from good families, and good families come from healthy and well individuals within it. Without relationships working, it doesn’t matter what you do on the business side, the human element can undo any structure or process or document that you put in place ” - Susanne

“Any kind of transition planning that I’ve ever done, if you don’t get that relationship piece right, don’t worry about the rest” - Sam

“You can’t solve family succession and transition and the issues within it from a business perspective, or as you said, from a spreadsheet perspective. You really need to look at it from a human angle and understanding what the relationships look like and what’s happening in the family systems.” - Susanne

“You can’t just burn bridges because you can’t just quickly rebuild them, so how do we actually create a better way, and a more inclusive and diverse and more balanced and harmonious way” - Susanne

“We want to be able to provide tools, conversations and pathways for women to be able to navigate this tricky situation” - Susanne

“How can we actually maintain our flow and our energy and do the things that we want to do and have great businesses…there’s no balance, it’s all about flow and up and down” - Sam

Links mentioned

https://www.womeninfamilybusiness.com/

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Episode 76: Professional and Personal Fulfillment is Not Mutually Exclusive

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Episode 74: Why Empowering Your People is a Win/Win Strategy