---
title: "How Can Family-Style Distributors Break Through Management Bottlenecks?"
description: "It is often said that the market is like a battlefield; one must not only constantly monitor external changes but also pay close attention to internal developments. Only by balancing both and responding swiftly can a business retain its market position and navigate the vast market with ease."
author: "汤如贤"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
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published: "2015-08-20"
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# How Can Family-Style Distributors Break Through Management Bottlenecks?

> It is often said that the market is like a battlefield; one must not only constantly monitor external changes but also pay close attention to internal developments. Only by balancing both and responding swiftly can a business retain its market position and navigate the vast market with ease.

It is often said that the market is like a battlefield; one must not only constantly monitor external changes but also pay close attention to internal developments. Only by balancing both and responding swiftly can a business retain its market position and navigate the vast market with ease.

Background Description
Most family-style distributors started their businesses out of necessity, aiming to support their families. Many were laid-off workers who, after being 'abandoned' by their enterprises, reluctantly turned to small trading. Others came from farming backgrounds, hoping to escape rural life through business. Their common trait is that they started from scratch, many even scraping together their first 'business capital' from various sources. With their 'dreams' in mind, they plunged into the market without hesitation.

Initially, these businesses were mostly husband-and-wife shops or sibling-run stores. Working from dawn to dusk, often going hungry, was the best portrayal of their early entrepreneurial days. They drank plain water and sweated profusely; by day they were busy sourcing and delivering goods, and by night they were cleaning and repairing. They seized every minute and second, yet earned only pennies and dimes.

Fortunately, they caught the wave of reform and opening-up. Most of them had developed a strong work ethic during the Mao era, and with the reforms under Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, they went all out despite their difficult circumstances. Through relentless effort, many have become millionaires, and some even possess assets worth tens of millions or hundreds of millions.

For their achievements and glory today, besides thanking the policies and the external environment, they should also be grateful to the relatives and friends—uncles, cousins, and others—who struggled alongside them. When their companies (or shops) were still small, these people unhesitatingly followed them to conquer the market, braving wind and rain. Whether the business did well or poorly, they shared the same pot of rice and slept under the same roof. Whether profits were made or losses incurred, they received only meager salaries earned through hard work. So these distributors should thank these relatives and friends who shared their hardships.

Today, these distributors suddenly realize that their shop assistants, salespeople, accountants, cashiers, and even cleaners and warehouse managers are often relatives—a niece from the aunt's side, a cousin from the maternal uncle's side, or even a gathering of uncles, aunts, siblings, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, and cousins. When they think about it, they are taken aback. With so many relatives and friends working together, they not only need to take care of them but also must avoid showing 'favoritism' to anyone. In the early days of entrepreneurship, as bosses, they would paint a bright future and say inspiring words like 'I won't forget you all when we get rich.' But now that the company (or shop) has grown and money has been made, how can they balance the interests of so many relatives and friends? These relatives often complain that someone isn't doing much work, or that another person gets the same salary despite doing little, and they even grumble about the boss. When the boss sees and thinks about these issues, how can they not shudder? Let alone expect the company (or shop) to develop better and faster.

Money has been earned, the company has grown, and there are more people. Managing in the old way will surely lead to chaos! Those relatives conquered the market with them and endured hardships; they can't just burn the bridge after crossing the river. But if they keep them around, they will flaunt their seniority and affect the company's atmosphere. The newly hired outsiders will certainly feel uncomfortable, and even if they don't, the boss will find it hard to treat everyone fairly, leading to grievances. Moreover, to make the company bigger and stronger, they need to bring in more capable people. If the boss can't manage these relatives, how can hired managers manage them? If they undergo the 'surgery' (reform), they fear hurting relationships and facing the community; if they don't, the company cannot develop and break through its current situation. These problems torment these moderately successful distributors day and night. Such distributors are numerous nationwide, even constituting a large portion of the distributor camp.

Problem Diagnosis
1. How should these relatives and friends who helped conquer the market be handled? Where should they go?
2. How should the company structure be built to adapt to the fiercely competitive market environment?
3. How can fair management be implemented without affecting the company's situation?
4. How can the transition from a husband-and-wife shop to a formal company be achieved?

Implementation Methods
Indeed, for those who shared hardships and conquered the market together—even if they were strangers, let alone relatives—it's hard for the boss to let them go. On one hand, the boss can't be ruthless; on the other hand, these relatives and friends who followed them won't leave willingly.

Surgery (reform) is necessary. All distributors who have experienced this pain know that without reform, they are waiting to die. The market is cruel, and these distributors, who have struggled in the market for years, understand this well. But how to do it in a way that allows the company to develop well while minimizing 'public outrage'? This is the most headache-inducing problem for these bosses.

Step One: Make a firm decision to reorganize the 'relatives group'
1. After years of working together, the boss knows which relatives have management skills, which are hardworking, which have potential, which are dispensable, and which are even redundant. So for bosses preparing for a second venture, reorganizing the 'relatives group' is imperative.
2. Among the 'relatives group' who conquered the market together, promote one or two reliable individuals (who can manage others) to department heads. These promoted heads will surely go all out to quell 'public outrage' and do their utmost to help the boss solve problems. As the saying goes, 'A new broom sweeps clean.' Moreover, as 'elites' among many relatives, they will be even more eager to make a mark.
3. For those who are 'redundant,' the boss should not be lenient. They should do ideological work and find ways to send them home or encourage them to find other jobs. This demonstrates the boss's determination and serves as a warning to others: those who stay must work hard, or they will be firmly sent away. At the beginning, it's advisable not to dismiss too many people, lest morale collapse.

Step Two: Recruit 'fresh blood' to strengthen internal competition
1. Hire experienced personnel to join the company, letting outsiders influence the remaining relatives. This serves as a wake-up call and makes them realize that there are capable people outside.
2. Gradually refine management by adding more departments, assigning important positions to external hires, and giving them room to showcase their abilities. The boss should pay extra attention to such personnel; this is also a crucial step in reform.
3. Continue to send away some less important relatives and friends, or assign them to insignificant positions, preparing for their eventual departure.

Step Three: Integrate manufacturer resources and optimize company structure
1. Upstream manufacturers are actually very useful partners who are willing to help distributors. For a distributor who is striving for improvement and determined to reform, manufacturers will be happy to continue cooperation and will spare no effort to assist in solving problems during the reform.
2. Manufacturer-appointed office managers and marketing personnel are usually trained and experienced in the market, with rich experience in marketing, training, and problem-solving. Many manufacturers also cultivate their marketing staff to be consultant-style or nanny-style marketers. Such personnel are definitely a free and usable backbone force in the distributor's reform.
3. Utilize the successful experiences of other distributors nationwide or the manufacturers themselves to help the distributor reform, leveraging strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and reducing detours.
4. Integrate the capabilities of various manufacturers' marketing personnel, work with the distributor to re-plan the company structure, optimize human resources, provide training for company staff, and guide the distributor in product integration, promotional activities, and other practical operations to improve the quality and cultural literacy of company personnel, moving both external hires and relatives toward formalization.

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