What are the pros/cons with working with a family member?

There are many pros and cons when running a business with family members. I can only give you answers based on my personal experience and observation. Perhaps the main advantage is that there is more give and take (for example, the willingness to take lesser monthly pay especially at times when the business is not doing well. With paid workers, you cannot do this.) PROVIDED that all partners are acutely aware that it is a "family business" in the meaning that all the profits generated are to be used for the betterment of the whole family AND that they run the business professionally, you will have a good working team because the basis of cooperation is trust. But if not, you are heading for a disaster. I knew of a rich family business that ended up in court litigations - involving an elder and younger brother i.e. after their father passed away. In many cases, when the partners are immature, there is a tendency for them to fall back from discipline. The shop opens late; money is not strictly accounted for and in the end the business ends up having more debt than necessary. What strated as a well intended venture, end up tearing the family members apart, with one accusing the other as the "culprit." In any case, if I am in a position to start a business, I would not get any family members involved. I'd rather do it alone or with a reputable partner because the breakdown of a family relationship is the last thing I want to see - especially when money becomes the main cause.

One good thing about working with family is that you already have a relationship with that person. So, you don't really have to worry about that. However, working with family can still create some tension, more tension. I do hope that you and your cousin have a good relationship and work well together. I also hope that it all goes well this summer.

Well we have a family business and if one or two family member is on a spat then the whole office is in disarray. We are in one now and the work load is a little bit higher because one family member does not want to work. So my advice to anyone for those who will setup/ put-up a business, don't let your family members to invest on it(or unless their investment has pre-existing clauses) because in the future it would be the cause of trouble.

Depends on how close you are to that relatives. I have my first job way back when i am 17 with my auntie. She owns a souvenir shop and i work as a sales rep and enjoyed it. Later she entrusted me everything,from ordering the most sellable items and also with the designs for other products that needs some fixings or need to be ordered. So,i think the best advantage is how close you are to each other and feel comfortable working with them.

For some, working with a family member can be a very pleasant experience. For others, the same cannot be said. Before you make a decision to work with a family member or for a family-run business, there are several factors that you should be sure to take into thought. In a number of cases, being familiar with a family member that you will be working with can go a long way. Instead of being an outsider at work, you will know someone that you can talk to in and outside of work which can make the conversion into a new job go a whole lot smoother. This is a distinct pro of working with a family member. There is also a high chance that you may not essentially care for the professional side of your cousin as much as you do for the fun, impulsive side of your cousin. Depending on how your family member is in the workplace, this can be a con.

Well the pro is that there is a connection between you and your relative. A feeling and sense of being comfortable. The con is that is something goes wrong there could be bad blood between you two. It could cause family problems also. But that all depends on the relationship you have with your relative. In some cases it could be a good thing.

Feelings. It is hard for family members to do business at work and family at home. Not separating the two can leave hurt feelings which fester and cause problems down the line. A pro would be if you do not take advantage of it they are more likely to work with your schedule, make little changes for convenience and such. You also do not need to make office talk with strangers and what not. Con, family know your finances to a point at least and they tend to speak up about just about everything you do with said monies. I grew up in a family business with my parents and Aunt and Uncle and of coarse all of us kids. We did it for years and I grew up with it so I thought all of this was normal. It isn't bad if you have people who can set guide lines and follow them.

The many pros of working with a family member is the relationship you already have with them and you know what kind of person they are. you know their strengths and weaknessess both. the cons caqn be that family will take advantage of you only because you are family. you have to take the good with the bad sometimes.

Its really a good thing to work at ur cousin's place. U'll be free to do thing(u'll have fun), u'll also get to know her better and get close to her, she would care for you. There are lots of advantages u get but also a few disadvantage ; there is always a bad time in everythin,u'll av to get over it, never let that affect ur relationship with her and move on