John Timpson: five tips I'd give my grandchildren about how to run a family business No family is the same and there isn't a single recipe for family business success. All I can do is provide a list of the tips I would pass on to my grandchildren. Perhaps they will help other families in similar circumstances. 1) Only employ those family members who are good enough at their job to gain the respect of the workforce. 2) Don't make any relation a director unless you are pretty sure he or she is a superstar. 3) Keep the rest of the family fully informed, make them feel part of the business, give them a dividend - but don't let them interfere. 4) Some family firms set up a family council to keep everyone happy - we don't! Such 'Annual General Meetings' encourage criticism from those outside the business and resentment by the family executives. No happiness there - just discontent. 5) Keep a majority shareholding, preferably 100pc. My main aim is to help create a successful business that can stay in the family for generations to come. You can't expect everyone to agree all of the time but most board room bust-ups occur in poor performing companies where mediocre managers are made directors. Big families with a big business have a tough task keeping control. Our business was started by my great grandfather. I have eight grandchildren who will have some interesting times to tackle if they are to keep today's business in the family in two generations' time. Q I recently had a meal at your pub, The White Eagle in Rhoscolyn and I was extremely impressed with the efficiency with which it is run. Later, I saw the quote from Gordon Ramsey advising you to stick to cobbling and key-cutting and avoid running a restaurant. As you ignored that advice and went on to create the best pub on Anglesey, what business ideas did you use to make it such a success in a field where you were a novice? The White Eagle is well run, good value and a model of good hospitality. How should I approach a new business in an area I'm not an expert in? A Gordon Ramsey was probably right when he colourfully told my son James, "you must be mad to open a pub, stick to cutting keys." However, if we'd taken his advice we would have missed a fascinating venture and a lot of fun. We got involved on a whim, after my wife, Alex, 'persuaded' me to buy a holiday cottage in Rhoscolyn. Alex hates cooking and likes to eat out but wasn't impressed with the food on offer nearby. Her answer was to buy The White Eagle and make it her sort of pub. Alex's determination to turn her vision into reality is probably the original secret of success but it didn't happen without many unexpected problems and a lot of help from some fantastic people. The first few months were a nightmare. We passed our licensee course but it didn't tell us how to deal with a dirty kitchen which, on the day we took over, stored only two frozen burgers, six fish fingers and a limp lettuce. We spent hours quietly sitting at a corner table just watching. Some days we had fewer than 10 customers. We redecorated, changed the menu, produced a regular newsletter, provided toys, books and a menu for children and a changing specials board for their parents. We took barrels of my favourite beer - Weetwood, from a brewery near our home in Cheshire - in the back of our car and went through seven head chefs in the first 12 months. Steadily things got better, sales doubled and we started making money. I was happy but Alex was far from satisfied. "It's OK but not great, if you do something you should do it properly," she said. To show she meant business The White Eagle was closed for nine months and mostly demolished to build the pub Alex really wanted, with a little bit of the Timpson culture added in. It worked, not just because of the building but mainly thanks to the people who made it happen. We took the team to see a lot of pubs we liked and got generous advice from successful publicans Gary and Woody who saved us from making several silly mistakes. Rupert, our interior decorator, designed the pub to feel like home. We were lucky to have Stuart and Kirsty, our first experienced managers who understood what we wanted. The standards are maintained by Adrienne, who is in charge today. We didn't just want pub grub and were fortunate to find Roger, who must be the best Head Chef ever to come to Anglesey and Dave who produces puddings to die for. We were naive to think that it is simple to turn round a rundown pub. It was going to be a hobby but soon became pretty serious. There wasn't a secret formula, The White Eagle has been created by people not a process. Alex had a vision and was determined that nothing would stand in her way. But she could not have done it without trusting a lot of talented people (all those I have mentioned and many more) with the freedom to help turn her dream into reality. It worked well enough for us to open another pub down the road at Rhosneigr, The Oyster Catcher, which includes a training kitchen to help young people on Anglesey. They are both busy but we now know that running a pub is hard work and have no plans to expand our catering division. We will stop at two pubs and enjoy them. A cobbler should stick to his last.