Small Business Success, March 2006
By Nichole L. Torres (Entreprenuer Magazine)

There’s almost no one in the world who can make you crazy quite as well as your sibling. Just ask brothers Rick and Randy Girard, co-founders of Girard Environmental Services, a landscaping company in Sanford, Florida. Rick, 36, believes it’s the passion both he and his brother have for the business that can make their arguments so heated. "It is a very difficult situation. My brother and I learned a long time ago that when we disagree, we need to separate and discuss it again tomorrow,” says Rick. "Arguments are never productive. Things are said that aren’t meant, and it’s kind of hard to take those things back.”

Going to separate corners to cool off can be an effective way to deal with family conflicts, says Ira Bryck, director of the Family Business Center at the University of Massachusetts in Hadley. Some entrepreneurs find it helpful to have offices on different sides of the building. "You need to structure it in a way that you don’t put two pit bulls in the same office,” says Bryck. "There was a [local] case where two brothers who ran a very successful company used to fight all the time until [they] realized they each needed their own office on opposite sides of the city - and now their dealings are more businesslike.”

It can also help to identify old family patterns so you don’t repeat them, says family business expert Larina Kase, founder of Performance & Success Coaching LLC, a business coaching company in Philadelphia. If the older sibling is used to parenting the younger one - or if the younger one was always seeking attention - those patterns can repeat. "It’s not that there’s something wrong with your family if you’re having these communication difficulties,” she says. "It’s just that it happens to be coming up in the business as well as your personal life - it’s magnified in that way.” Try to be respectful of each other during arguments - and really try not to argue in front of employees. "It’s important that you’re not showing your employees the family issues that are causing the arguments,” Kase adds.

Though Rick Girard notes that he and his brother Randy, 32, still argue, he says, "We know when to stop.” It doesn’t mean they aren’t close - they even have homes next to each other, and they’ve grown their company to $18 million in annual sales since starting in 1998. They’ve also expanded the company with Girard Garden Centers, Girard Wholesale Nurseries and Girard Pool & Patio (which is still in the works) - all under the umbrella of The Girard Companies.

Says Rick, "We love for people to know [we’re] the two brothers who own Girard Environmental Services. The most rewarding [part] is the pride and reputation of becoming successful
together.”