Britt Rawlinson grew up watching her mother balance a bustling Calgary-based consignment business with the duties of motherhood.
“One thing that strikes me about mother-daughter teams is that women still today confront significant challenges in the business world, like gender bias,” reflects Danny Miller, a research professor at HEC Montréal specializing in families and entrepreneurship. “I learned so much from watching,” adds Joanna Stein, the company’s vice-president of sales. “When the company started, I was about 12, and my sister started travelling with my mother when she was 18. They taught me everything that they know, and I brought in a fresh perspective having gone to business school and learning the digital media aspect of it. I’m older now, but I brought in a younger perspective and it allowed us to target all age groups.
Dianne Rawlinson, left, stands beside her daughters Britt, centre, and Blake, right. Dianne started a consignment business when her daughters were young, and now both run consignment businesses.Mr. Miller points out trust as a huge advantage that family businesses have from the outset. Especially in ventures with multi-generational leadership, family ties provide unique opportunities for professional development that may not exist in other corporate contexts.