IN THE SPOTLIGHT: IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR
The industry is well known for husband-and-wife teams, as well as siblings, parents and even grandparents in business together. Samantha Mayling spoke to some about the benefits and potential pitfalls of working with family
WESTOE TRAVEL Graeme Brett works with wife Joan and daughter Gillian at their South Shields agency. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Graeme: The flexibility of being able to take time off, knowing the business is in safe hands. We can’t take long holidays together but Joan and I can have time off with each other, and Gillian has time off with her husband plus her yearly Disney trip with Joan. We’re lucky to have Alice Appleby, our assistant manager. She joined from school 14 years ago and is like one of the family.
TIPS: The most important thing is knowledge and expertise. If you have experience, progress will be so much easier. Gillian started with us while at school, saving for a school trip. She grew up with our way of doing things and customers saw her grow up. She studied law and qualified as a solicitor before deciding it was too boring – plus she loved to travel.
GOCRUISE WITH JANE Jane Chadwick started her franchise business 19 years ago and daughter Lizy Johnson joined 10 years later. Advantages and disadvantages? Jane: One big advantage is trust: you can rely on them 100%. There’s a shared commitment. With my years of experience and Lizy’s knowledge from working on cruise ships, we complement each other perfectly. The greatest challenge is separating work from personal life – it’s easy for work to take over every conversation. Family holidays can be tricky because we need to work while we’re away. As in any business, sometimes we don’t see eye to eye. Our organisational styles are different, but we’ve learnt to respect each other’s opinions, listen and compromise.
TIPS: Set clear roles from the start – knowing who is responsible for what makes everything run more smoothly. We love what we do and love doing it together. It’s not just a job, it’s something we’ve built together. Lizy met her
husband at Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth
naming ceremony. Kate, their daughter, is now eight.
22
20 MARCH 2025
travelweekly.co.uk
PICTURES: Shutterstock/RTimages, Jo karen
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