The casuistry is as wide as the number of family businesses, which in the case of the Region of Murcia represents 94% of the business fabric. Precisely this type of company is the one that has closed down the least in the current crisis.
In a general review of the situation of the family business, Díaz and Aráez agreed that the two sectors more damaged by the current situation are the hotel trade and the commerce, and especially José Díaz was against the hard restrictions that have been imposed to the first of them. “If the hotel and catering industry had been the main cause of the successive waves of the pandemic, its workers would have been the most infected during the months in which they were allowed to open their businesses. They would have dropped like flies,” he stressed. He also believes that the measures taken with the hotel and catering industry should have been considered more carefully, as the result has had serious consequences for the sector.
However, the two businessmen were optimistic about a relatively quick recovery of this sector, something that will not happen with small commerce. And they pointed out that the latter must renew stock and make investments to be able to adapt to the future post-pandemic situation.
In their speeches, they analyzed the state of traditional commerce in the face of the constant advance of e-commerce. They valued the fact that online sales are here to stay, but demanded regularization, “out of social necessity”. The small, more traditional trade cannot compete with large platforms or with portals created for sales between individuals, and they cited Wallapop and Vinted as examples. They consider that while commerce pays taxes, sales between individuals are unregulated and should also be taxed, since there is an economic transaction.
Andrés Aráez was critical of the current political instability and its consequences for the regional economy and demanded “more professional politicians who look more towards entrepreneurship”. He recalled that Murcia, despite the coronavirus crisis, maintains the pace in the creation of companies, which shows that its entrepreneurs are consistent and courageous.
What comes first, the business or the family?
The question was put to the table by the moderator, Francisco Provencio. The answer is neither easy nor always conclusive, as it is difficult to separate the two issues in this type of business. “Many family meals turn into board meetings, because we solve many problems there,” joked José Díaz. Aráez agrees, adding that, in principle, more time is dedicated to the company and that the end result is a “business family”.
Protocols in family businesses have also become indispensable elements for the smooth running of these businesses. They are necessary tools that, in most cases, have been drawn up with external professional help and serve to establish “rules of the game” that avoid confrontations. The two companies represented at the virtual conference have such protocols.
Díaz and Aráez highlighted the two main values that tend to prevail in family businesses: education and respect, and many others that are imposed “as you go along the way”.
The speakers also defended business associations as a formula for learning from other entrepreneurs, in addition to generating alliances and giving strength to the group before public administrations.
In associations such as Amefmur, small companies learn from the experiences of larger ones, and these act as a guide for the former, so the symbiosis is perfect.
We cannot be a haven for useless people
The professionalization of the family business is an issue that is constantly debated in the business world in general. In any case, professionalization is being imposed and in the case of the two firms represented in the webinar, both have opted for this formula.
José Díaz has agreements with the Polytechnic University of Cartagena and there are several students who annually carry out internships in this company. The students are trained and those in charge of the company learn. Finally, some of these students are currently part of the staff. They consider that opening the company to the university and calling for professionals has meant “getting rid of complexes”, as they also believe that only a professionalization in management positions will guarantee the growth of the business. “The family business cannot be a refuge for useless people”, said the manager of a company with more than 120 years of history and in which the fourth generation is already working.
In the case of Cash Arama, they have also professionalized management and the management of the third-generation company is external, as is the financial management. “You always have to know where the next step is and the smartest thing to do is to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you.” In this company, external collaboration is the responsibility of Carrillo Asesores.
Succession, which must guarantee the continuity of the company, is key to the survival of these companies. In the opinion of the speakers, it must be something natural, “it cannot be forced”. José Díaz has incorporated a fourth generation and they do not believe that there could be problems. According to José Ángel Díaz, there is harmony among the partners and the situation is stabilized, it follows a protocol and precisely this generated some “healthy competition” among the cousins who are part of the fourth generation, which resulted in more training among the candidates to succeed the current manager.
The succession at Cash Arama was different. Andrés Aráez admits that when he took over the management of the family business it was a direct decision of his father. “I was appointed by hand” when he was only 25 years old. Even so, he was aware that he had to avoid at all costs the mistakes that the founder of the company would have made and he also considers that training is fundamental, so he has professionalized part of the management and while he continues to open new lines of business, he has already incorporated a third generation, aware that in the family business it is necessary to know “when to take and when to let go for new generations”. “These companies are not the inheritance of our parents, but the loan of our children”.