Creating A Business with Family & Friends

Family and friends can be a powerful force when it comes to growing a business. We have learned that first hand since starting JJwinks. While we position ourselves as a big business, we are really just a small team of people, most of whom are either related or a friend of a friend and that's what works for us.

Call our customer service line and you will end up talking to either Kelly's sister or one of our best friends since childhood. It goes against a lot of traditional beliefs that business and personal lives shouldn't mix. But, it's also true that friends and family members protect the business in ways that no one else would.  We find this to provide a huge value.

At first, our desire to recruit those close to us was more out of necessity. The tasks were small and we wanted people we could depend on. It's hard to get strangers to come work for a business that is untested and finding its way. Over time, we found that they were invested in our success more than anyone. Their efforts began lifting us up in ways we weren't sure we'd get from "strangers" who didn't really care if we succeeded or not. 

Our team has our back. Everyone knows them as honest people who are there for their friends and family. It keeps other business vendors or contacts from trying to take advantage of us when they know whomever they are dealing with at JJwinks almost always has a direct line to the founders. 

It's not always perfect, but it's been our experience that having family and friends involved in our business have helped it grow and succeed more quickly. They know what drives us, they know how hard we work, they know when something is wrong. Most importantly, they don't tell us what we want to hear. That kind of honesty has saved us from ourselves on many occasions and it’s what we look to help us get to the next level of our business.