How To Take Over The Family Business- With Laura Cooper Jackson
Todays episode of the Empower Sounds podcast is all about realities of taking over the family business and navigating all the challenges that come with it…
Laura Cooper-Jackson is the Managing Director of I-Signs, one of the UK’s leading Manufacturers. She shares her journey of becoming MD and how her career ambitions and prospects changed, with her originally wanting to be a midwife, then eventually working in Dubai for Harpers Bazaar to then changing industry and working manufacturing and running the family business.
Whilst Laura shares her how she ended up on her path, she emphasise the need to create your own detailing how instead of following the traditional route she left college early and moved to Dubai to start working. By accepting that higher education is not the only route, and choosing something more unconventional, she provides insight into how she dealt with resistance from her peers and managed to stay true to her own vision.
Although running the family business was not originally, in the plan Laura conveys her motivations for choosing to change career and the process of doing so. She discusses how she overcome imposter syndrome, learnt about a new industry, and how she was able to grow and scale the business even during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alongside providing insight and advice on the this, Laura relayed how to manage the burnout associated with entrepreneurship, highlighting the importance of boundaries in the workplace. She also discusses the importance of boundaries in the family when running a family business and the realities of combining business with pleasure.
Regarding family, Laura also shares her journey into motherhood and how it has influenced her as a Managing Director. She confesses how she was initially naive about the difficulty of being a parent and juggling motherhood with business. However she provides advice and inspiration to other working moms as to how to incorporate balance and how motherhood has made her a more empathetic boss highlighting how every employee is an extension of the Cooper family.
Some of the key themes and takeaways of todays conversation include:
- The importance of creating your own path and not conforming what other people expect of you
- The process of changing industry and careers
- Navigating boundaries with family and colleagues in the workplace
- Finding balance between working and making time for rest
- The process of modernising the family business
- How to overcome imposter syndrome
- The “firm but fair” management style
- How to ensure feels like a family but works like a business
Tune in to learn more and listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple, Amazon and all other major streaming platforms.
To learn more about I-Signs Visit: https://isignsgroup.co.uk/