And
Here's Lilly "In the Press"
Overcoming The Challenges Of A
Mother-Daughter Business
(NAWBO-LA NEWS)
In the world of family-owned
businesses, female family members usually hold part-time jobs and Dad runs the show.
But it’s a far different story at And Here’s Lilly, a family business
co-owned by NAWBOLA members Liliana and Charmaine Wilkerson.
Their mother-daughter team is
rare, having successfully negotiated the challenges of control and competition that
confront mothers working with female offspring. Liliana’s professionalism,
experience and round-the-clock devotion to her event management business have earned her
the respect of her clients, but most of all her daughter, Charmaine.
In turn, Liliana values her
daughter’s ease with math and figures, her people skills and her profit/sales
orientation. Over the years, while Lilly concentrated on elegant food and protocol
demanded by key clients and international guests, Charmaine has taken the company to new
growth levels by overseeing operations as well as managing outside events.
“The mother-daughter
relationship is different than husband and wife of brother and sister,” says
Charmaine. “It’s more of a close relationship. I think mothers and
daughters can speak to each other more freely. There is more of a bond.”
Lilly added that it is
important for mothers to recognize that their daughters can be as capable as they are.
“Soon they become more capable, and you have to acknowledge and bend to that
and be happy you contributed. You are a part of that.”
Charmaine’s advice to
other mother-daughter business duos: “Concentrate on each other’s
strengths. On our team, my mom definitely has the experience and the knowledge.
In my case, it’s the vision.” Their golden rule: No pulling rank,
no whining and no sniveling. And when it comes to business, the client comes first.
