Patience and understanding are essential ingredients

Name: Neil Robertson Robertson Freight Family members involved: Neil and Brian Robertson – directors Brian’s wife, Cheryl (accounts); son Lyle (imports); daughter, Mia (exports), daughter Kim (debtor’s clerk.) Neil’s stepson, Fabian (exports). Established... July 1999, having decided to go it alone. Working with family demands ... Patience and a lot more understanding for the most part. At the end of the day it involves personalities. We do have our differences from time to time, but at the end of it all we understand that we are here to do a job and to do it well. Our biggest challenges … Ensuring that there is enough business being ticked over on a monthly basis and that all statutory and business compliances are always achieved and maintained. Our recipe for success: A “hands-on approach”. We love keeping in touch with new systems and procedures (which are ever-changing), and making sure they are implemented in our work environment. Our philosophy is simple – we try to understand the client's business requirements, and then we work in conjunction with them to ensure their needs are met. Our motto is: Our competitors are as good as we are but we make a difference and add value by going that extra mile. Issues on which we agree: The direction of the family business being forward, forward and forward! Issues on which we disagree: Everyone has their own style and approach and with a 14-year age gap between myself and Brian, we find ourselves often differing on various issues, but it is important that it is never major issues. In fact, because of our differences, we have a versatile approach to the day-to-day running of the business that is more beneficial. Our business icon: Ourselves. Our future aspirations: To have our offspring running this business when we have moved on to greener pastures.