Winners exemplify best practice

Family Business Australia chief executive Philippa Taylor delivered an overwhelmingly positive message to those at the 2005 Family Business Australia (WA) Family Business Awards held this month at the WA Art Gallery.

“Winning is the icing on the cake, but family businesses need to understand that they can still be successful in the future,” Ms Taylor said. “Don’t give up,” she told those businesses that were finalists but weren’t among the big winners.

“The entry form, especially section three, has questions that try and assist family businesses to understand what best practices they need to have in place to ensure future success.

“I would ask family businesses to look at the questions carefully and work with FBA about incorporating family business best practices into their own business, and reapply next year.”

It was the fourth successive year that Family Business Australia and WA Business News have presented the Family Business Awards.

The gala evening started at 7pm with pre-dinner drinks and entertainment from circus theatre troupe, Bizircus, and music act Freehold Jazz.

Event MC Tina Altieri got the evening under way by listing the 13 finalists and the five award categories: best youth in family business; best family business employer; and best first, second and third generation businesses.

WA Business News executive director Elton Swarts officially welcomed guests and warmed up the crowd with a family business story he believed perfectly demonstrated some of the unique opportunities available to families in business.

“A very successful businessman had a meeting with his new son-in-law. ‘I love my daughter and I now welcome you into our family’, said the man.

“‘To show you how much we care for you, I’m going to make you a 50-50 partner in my company. All you have to do is go to the factory every day and learn the operations’.

“The son-in-law interrupted, and said, ‘I hate factories; I can’t stand the noise’.

“The father-in-law said, ‘well, instead you can work in the office’, to which the young man said, ‘I can’t stand being stuck behind a desk all day’.

“‘Wait a minute’, the father-in-law said, ‘I have just made you a half-owner of a moneymaking operation but you don’t like factories or working in an office – what am I going to do with you?’

“‘Easy’, said the son-in-law, ‘buy me out.’”

And with that, the awards evening was off to a great start.

Mr Swarts also emphasised to the finalists, and indeed all the entrants, that just being a part of the awards was a major achievement because of the perseverance, financial risk, determination and dynamic business skills involved.

The seven-person judging panel was then thanked for its efforts in selecting finalists and choosing the winners.

Chairman of judges and WA Business News editor, Mark Pownall, said the Art Gallery provided a great atmosphere for the function.

“It had an intimacy that is appropriate at a family business awards,” he said. “The award winners all had something worth noting. In their brief comments the winners managed to take textbook concepts and make them sound authentic. It is something I note every year.

“There is nothing theoretical about family business best practice to these people, they implement this thinking in their business and adapt it to their needs.”

Family businesses from as far south as Cowaramup and as far north as Gingin attended the event, with Moon-Haven Natural Products, Herdsman Fresh Essentials, and Atrium Homes the FBA Family Business Awards winners for 2005 in the respective categories of first generation, second generation, and best youth in family business.

And in an FBA awards first for WA, Sadleirs Transport won two awards, those for third generation business and best family employer.

The winners automatically go on to compete in the national awards, which will be announced at the FBA National Conference in Adelaide next month.