It’s All in the Family

It’s All in the Family

BS&R Group has always been a family business and with this year being our 40th year we thought it would be a perfect time to feature our resident father son team, Founder Tony Maderios and his son, Project Manager, Anthony Maderios.

Tony sat down with us to give advice on the joys and challenges of working in the family business and how working with both his brother and his son has been a lifelong pastime.

Did you envision your son growing up and following in your footsteps?
Yes, I thought at least one of them would take to it and I was right. My eldest is very much involved in daily operations, and to be honest, is the reason I still wake up and come to work. I want to teach him as much as I can before I decide to keep my feet up.

How long have you been working together?
Anthony used to hang around the workshop when he was younger and help out,. When he was 11 and old enough to start being productive, he would sweep the floors and assist on deliveries. During school and then university he would spend his Christmas and summer holidays working. He began being truly interested after returning from Univeristy and has been full time at the shop for a little over 6 years now starting as a skilled apprentice and quickly moving up.

Besides yourselves, are there any other family members who have worked for BS&R?
My brother John helped me start the business, and my youngest son worked here a few times before deciding it wasn’t for him.

How was it to have your son take on the family business too?
As long as he was willing to be patient and learn, I was happy to have him on board and pass on the insight and best practices I have gained over the years.

Do you each have your own favorite thing you like doing in BS&R?
I personally prefer antique acquisition and restoration work as it is very particular, and each antique has its own story; usually multi-generational.

Anthony really takes to the commercial work. He enjoys reading blueprints, visualizing the project, and offering clients the best possible options available to them. Not to say that I don’t; I just prefer the more isolated hands-on work. My son also doesn’t mind working in challenging environments, and it’s safe to say that my days working on a roof in the sun are over!

What are the challenges of running a family business?
Not taking things overly personal.There is always a bit of disagreement in a family business. Each person has their own view of how to grow the company. The good side of it is that the conversation always revolves around improvement so whatever the outcome is it will be better than where it started from. It’s important that we communicate on a daily basis, and also ensure that our family relationship doesn’t distort what our business relationship is seeking to accomplish.

Are their certain projects that you work on together?
We try to sit down together and offer a fresh pair of eyes on each project we are working on. Despite our experience, it’s important to allow each other the ability to provide feedback and suggestions in order to learn together and make sure our decisions are rational!

Advice for other families working together?
Be patient, and don’t take it personal. Decisions have to be made on a regular basis; some popular, some not. In our case we happen to be two proud individuals that do the same thing in two different ways. We’re both right, but also both stubborn!

Make sure you make and enjoy shared moments outside of the workplace where you get to enjoy each other’s company without necessarily discussing work.