I once worked with a family business run by two brothers and a sister. The sister was a dreamer, pushing niche markets and creative ideas. Her CEO brother was all about landing big accounts to keep cash flowing. Every strategy meeting turned into a shouting match. Nothing got decided, and the business was stuck.

I pulled the creative sister aside and asked, “Do you want to be CEO?” She laughed, “No way.” That honesty was a game-changer. They finally aligned behind one leader, and the chaos started to fade. Is your family business stuck because no one’s steering the ship?

Download The Profit Gap for free at TheProfitBootCamp.com to see 5 hidden reasons family businesses work hard but still fall short of profit.

Family businesses are special, but they come with unique traps. The daily grind, orders, payroll, and customer complaints can bury any chance of big-picture thinking. You’re so busy keeping the lights on that you forget to ask: where’s this business going? That’s survival mode, and it’s a profit killer. Strategy takes a backseat when you’re just trying to get through the week.

Then there’s the family dynamic. Loyalty and emotions can cloud tough calls. Maybe your cousin’s great at sales but terrible at managing people, yet no one says anything because he’s family. Or your parents are still on the payroll, even though they retired years ago. These are human issues, but they hurt your bottom line.

The fix? Write down everyone’s roles, even if it’s awkward. Be clear: who’s in charge of what? I’ve seen families transform their businesses just by putting this on paper. It’s not about cutting people out but giving everyone a lane so the company can move forward. Always return to the core principle that increasing profit increases value for all family members.

If every week feels like a scramble, you’re missing structure. Without a precise rhythm, you’re starting from zero every Monday. That’s exhausting, and it keeps you stuck. Try this: start one monthly owner profit check-in, 60 minutes max.

Focus on one question: what’s driving profit next month? It could be following up on late invoices, cutting a small cost, or pushing a high-margin product. Get your team thinking about profit, not just staying busy. Structure turns chaos into progress.

Family businesses also risk getting too comfortable. You might have a warm and loyal culture, but is it driving growth? Or is it just keeping the peace? Ask yourself: does our setup push us toward profit, or are we coasting on familiarity?

One family business I know kept a low-margin product line because it was “part of our history.” Dropping it felt like betraying the past, but it freed up cash for marketing that doubled their revenue. Logic has to win.

Here’s a quick story. I had a client who groaned, “Mondays are a mess.” Projects stalled, and he was micromanaging everything. We set a simple rhythm: Monday to set goals, Wednesday for updates, Friday to review wins. In just a few weeks, his team started owning their tasks. He wasn’t carrying the whole business anymore; he had breathing room. Structure doesn’t sound sexy, but it’s a game-changer.

Now you see the real traps keeping your family business stuck. But what if the real problem isn’t your family, it’s you? In our next episode, we’ll face the hard truth about leadership and profit. Don’t miss it.

• Cut one cost: Block 30 minutes, review P&L, and cut one expense. Just one. Lead by example.
• Find one drain: Review finances weekly, searching for one hidden loss. Act now.

• Align the family: Hold a...

BIO: Jeff Holman, founder of Intellectual Strategies, is revolutionizing legal support for startups and scaling businesses. His Fractional Legal Team model provides expert legal guidance without the cost of a full-time team.

STORY: Jeff started a cold plunge and sauna business during the pandemic. The company looked great, but he had employee issues, which affected its success. Soon, tens of other studios, brands, and franchises were all popping up within a mile of Jeff’s studio.

LEARNING: Create strategic alignment incrementally and iteratively.

Jeff Holman, founder of Intellectual Strategies, is revolutionizing legal support for startups and scaling businesses. His Fractional Legal Team model provides expert legal guidance without the cost of a full-time team. With expertise in engineering, law, and business, Jeff helps companies navigate complex challenges, enabling them to grow with confidence.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jeff decided to find ways to spend his time and invest some of his money. He settled on a cold plunge and sauna business. The spreadsheet looked great, and the numbers were fantastic. The business model followed another business that Jeff had previously done, which had achieved considerable success.

Jeff found a local company in Utah that was manufacturing cold plunges at the time and secured a couple of investor friends to invest in the business. He rented an office space and converted one of the suites into a cold plunge and sauna studio.

The biggest mistake that cost Jeff this business was hiring employees and trying to get them more involved in marketing. He would help train and incentivize employees, ensure tasks were completed, have people submit reports, follow up for accountability, and more. It felt like he was babysitting his employees. This eventually brought his business down. However, the final nail in the coffin was a proliferation of other studios, brands, and franchises, all popping up within a mile of Jeff’s studio.

• If you’re part of a franchise, consider visiting other franchise businesses that may not be competing with yours or those a little further away from your customer base to observe how they operate.
• If you’re pivoting your business, create strategic alignment incrementally and iteratively because the business you’re operating today might not be the one you pivot to tomorrow.

Find a business that does what you want to do in another state and go work with them for a while.

Validate the business idea you want to invest in well beyond the spreadsheet. Research regulations, test your MVP, identify channels that you’ll use to drive revenue, and much more.

Jeff’s journey has taught him the value of seeking expert advice. He recommends holding a strategy call with him if you need legal expertise to scale your business confidently. He also suggests reading Rocket Fuel and Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman to learn how to align intellectual property, assets, patents, trademarks, and...

I met a family business owner in the Philippines who was proud of his “stable” company. Two percent net profit, year after year. Sounds okay, right? Until I showed him the math: because his margin was deeply below average, he’d missed out on $1.2 million in potential profit over three years.

That “stability” was a slow bleed, draining his business while he didn’t even notice. Are you losing money you can’t see? That’s what this episode is all about: how profit problems silently grow while you’re looking the other way.

Download The Profit Gap for free at TheProfitBootCamp.com to see 5 hidden reasons family businesses work hard but still fall short of profit.

Profit problems don’t usually hit you like a freight train. They creep in quietly; a slight inefficiency here, a missed opportunity there. Maybe it’s a subscription you forgot to cancel or pricing that hasn’t budged in years. These leaks add up, and the longer you wait, the harder they are to fix. Think of it like a leaky pipe: today’s drip becomes a flood tomorrow.

The longer you delay, the more risk and complexity you’re piling on. Your margins shrink, your stress grows, and suddenly, you’re vulnerable to a bad month or a competitor’s move. I experienced this in my own business leading up to the government COVID lockdowns.

The good news? You don’t need a massive overhaul to start. Just find one recurring cost that’s dragging you down. It could be an overpriced vendor, software you barely use, or a process that wastes your team’s time.

One client I worked with found $1,500 monthly in unused cloud storage. Cutting it took 10 minutes and saved him $18,000 a year. That’s the kind of win you can grab right now. Small tweaks today prevent painful losses tomorrow.

Here’s a simple way to start: schedule a 30-minute profit review this month. Pull your profit and loss statement and look for one leak. Don’t overcomplicate it. Just ask: where’s money slipping away?

If you don’t know your P&L, ask your accountant to walk you through it. You may need a new accountant if your accountant can’t do that. This isn’t about being a finance wizard but knowing your business. One owner I know avoided his financials for years, trusting his bookkeeper. When we finally looked, we found $40,000 lost to outdated pricing. A 30-minute review fixed it. That’s the power of paying attention.

Don’t wait until you’re desperate. I’ve seen too many owners hold off until they’re scraping by, thinking they’ll fix profit when things “calm down.” Spoiler: things don’t calm down. The time to act is now when you still have options. If you wait until you’re broke, your choices shrink fast. You might have to cut staff, take a loan, or close up shop. Acting early keeps you in control.

Here’s a question to spark clarity: if a third party bought your business today, what’s the first thing they would fix?

Maybe it’s a product line barely breaking even or a client who pays late but demands your time. Write down one fix and tackle it this week. That mindset, seeing your business with fresh eyes, uncovers profit you didn’t know you had. Don’t wait for the third party to arrive. Fix your business now.

Let’s pause for a story. I worked with a client who never tracked profit by product. His team was convinced their manufactured products were the cash cow, way better than their imported products. We dug into the numbers, and guess what?

The imported products they sold were nearly twice as profitable. He immediately shifted strategy, focused on imports, raised prices on the manufactured stuff, and boosted gross profit by 17% in three months. That money was sitting there, waiting to be found. What’s hiding in your...