Calling it Quits: The Real Cost of Family Business Ownership

Successful navigation around the complexities of family business ownership demands radical honesty and clear boundaries. Brittany Burgess, Senior Customer Advocacy Specialist at ServiceTitan, joins the show to share her candid experience starting and eventually closing a landscaping company with her husband. From the initial excitement of partnering with a spouse to the breaking point of operational chaos and equipment failure, Brittany discusses the emotional toll of trying to save a business for someone else's sake. She provides actionable advice for couples entering the trades together, emphasizing the importance of defined roles, strict boundaries between work and home, and maintaining a growth mindset even when a venture fails. Her story serves as a powerful reminder that success isn't always found in the bottom line, but often in the lessons learned through hardship.

Join us as we discuss: 

• [4:00] Early challenges that led to the breaking point of a couple-owned landscaping company 
• [13:11] Dealing with the immediate fallout of shuttering a business and breaking the news to employees
• [19:34] Why correctly identifying roles and responsibilities is essential to a family business’s survival
  

You can find this interview and many more by subscribing to Toolbox for the Trades on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, or here.

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