A business might be established as a family business at the outset, for example when funded with family money or where family members are setting out specifically with the intention of being a family business.
However, in the majority of cases, at least initially in the lifecycle of a business, the sole concern of the founders, as with any entrepreneur, will be to ensure that their business survives its early days and the turbulence that usually accompanies its initial periods of growth. It is not until they have developed the vision with the controllability and predictability of implementation, that owners will have the freedom to breathe. It is likely to be at this stage in the lifecycle of the business that they have the capacity to turn their minds to the longer-term future and will be able to begin to balance the interests of the family with those of the business itself.