Siblings Making Work Work
People are often surprised when they hear that Erin and I are sisters and we run The Grant Plant together. “I could never work with my sister!” people say. Or, “We’d kill each other.” To which we often reply that we can’t imagine working without each other.
Last fall, we had the pleasure of attending the Playbook Conference, put on by Trainual. Trainual is a software that we use at TGP as an online training manual, employee handbook, and people directory. We’ve used it for a couple years, taking all of our processes, policies, and employee information into one online tool. It turns out that after 20+ years, that type of information is all over the place. It was a haul to get it all into Trainual, and we still find places with missing information or areas that need to be updated to new ways of “how we do it now.” It’s been a game changer for onboarding our employees and for fielding questions (“Did you check Trainual?” has become a quick response).
The Playbook Conference was technical and inspiring, and we were impressed by the thoughtful details incorporated by the event team at Trainual – such as high-quality supplies right down to nice nametags, good sponsor giveaways, a well-rounded program and slate of speakers, staff who lined up to welcome people in the mornings, after-hours celebrations at the Phoenix Mercury’s new facilities complete with hors d’oeuvres and drinks (not to mention the catering during the event itself), and even fancy mobile bathrooms in case the facility didn’t have enough. The event ended with a Recharge + Reflect day, with the idea of having a reset day before launching back into work at the end of a conference. It included a hiking or yoga session, tour of the Trainual facilities, networking, chair massage and/or chiropractic adjustment, loads of refreshments, and a participant takeaway session. What a surprising touch! Imagine our further delight when we discovered that the two people who run Trainual are brothers – Chris and Jonathan Ronzio.
At the Reflect + Recharge day (Erin hiked, I did yoga), Erin and I were able to chat briefly with Chris and Jonathan – also discovering that the gap in their ages is about the same as ours, roughly 4 years apart – and the four of us remarked at how rarely we meet other sibling business owners, and lamented the response we hear when people are confronted with the idea of working with their sibling.
Earlier in the year, Erin and I had also traveled with our brothers on a “Sibs Trip” to the Outer Banks. The four of us had envisioned sitting on the beach, soaking up some sun, and getting some striking photos along with quality sibs time. It was not to be, however, as it happened to be freezing that week – not literally, but enough for me – and while we did get the quality sibs time (I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in years), the weather forced us to find indoor adventures. The trip turned into a history lesson, as we explored a few lighthouses, museums, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, with the Roanoke Colony and Underground Railroad First Light of Freedom memorials, and the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Intrigued by all of these places and the history lessons I hadn’t anticipated, after returning home, I picked up the book The Wright Brothers by David McCullough.
Wilbur and Orville (also four years apart), much like Erin and me, and I presume like Chris and Jonathan, did everything together, their relationship surpassing that of siblings to business partners and joint shareholders, confidants and comrades, someone who both cheers you on and curbs you when you’re getting out of whack, and ultimately best friends. From this little bit of reading, communication with Chris and Johnathan, and lived experience with Erin, here’s my take on why sibling businesses are a good idea.
Being raised together gave us a similar work ethic.
We were raised with the same values, which translate into practices when doing business. We’re not perfect, but in general, we’re hard workers, we see a job through to the end, we do what we say we’re going to do, we show up when we say we will, we operationalize compassion and generosity, and we focus on the positive. Many of our other staff do some or all of this too, but when Erin and I work together, these values are unspoken. It helps us work faster because we don’t have to slow down and explain expectations.
We naturally complement each other’s styles.
We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, so we can anticipate and build on them. For instance, Erin has an eagle eye and we rely on her attention to detail for things like our financials review checklist and approving payroll, two things that I have to force myself to really concentrate on if it falls to me. I am more of a broad strokes person – back in college as a technical theatre major, we would design sets and paint backdrops and then walk 20 feet backward to inspect them. This ability to zoom in and out gives us different perspectives and using multiple vantage points strengthens how we lead the company.
We have all the ideas!
We have a hard time stopping our shared ideation. I imagine this happens to any entrepreneur, especially pairs. And even more so siblings, who can pick up a thought the other one has and run with it! So many ideas! Our weekly “Santa Fe Days” are our strategy days. We spend these days together for agreement and progress on core business things, discuss different issues we’re dealing with or projects we want to tackle, and often we come up with ideas that create more work for ourselves (in a good way!). We can advance ideas quickly and sometimes even without saying a word.
We can be candid. More candid. And get over conflict faster.
Working with a sibling offers the advantage of being able to speak your mind without fear of backlash. We have a foundation of trust that helps us be vulnerable or admit insecurities or know that what we’re saying to each other won’t be shared elsewhere. We also have an understanding that helps us push through conflict. It doesn’t happen often, but when Erin and I get into a disagreement, we know that we’ll come through the other side because that’s what siblings do – they remain. Whereas with other colleagues conflict might turn into, at best, a clearing conversation or, at worst, resentment, retaliation, or resignation.
Incidentally, Authority Magazine ran an article on Chris and Jonathan Ronzio in early 2025, and they shared similar sentiments: “Working with Jonathan comes so second nature to me, because we’ve been communicating our whole lives. We understand each other quickly, and can skip the niceties. We say things that need to be said without worrying about crossing some line. We can get right to the point. And we don’t feel any hesitation about contacting each other at any time of day. Some of our best calls are at 5am or midnight.”
We want to see each other succeed.
Although we are both competitive people in an industry full of competitive people, we don’t compete with each other. The me-first mentality that we may come across in other people or organizations doesn’t apply to owning a business with a sibling. If we were doing this alone, there’s a good chance we would have thrown in the towel years ago. Maybe it’s motivation, sisterly love, the shared responsibility of taking care of our people, or even a sense of duty to each other. Running the business together has most certainly contributed to its longevity.
You’ll make your mom happy.
Since I’m a parent, I know how much joy it brings to see your kids voluntarily spend time together. (Maybe work isn’t “voluntary” per se, but choosing to do it together is.) Our parents have come to dinners and award banquets with us, they were there for our business’ 20th birthday party, and they’re tickled when our names are in print. When we were at the Playbook Conference, Chris and Jonathan’s parents were there too, along with partners and children. Much as I imagine it made our parents’ hearts swell to see their four kids taking a vacation together to the Outer Banks last year, their pride can feel almost tangible as they are seeing Erin and I supporting each other and succeeding, and at times struggling, together in business.
It’s not all roses, but the beauty outweighs the thorns. Our biggest pitfall in working together is that because our families are so close we often vacation together a few weeks a year, or if there’s a health scare with a family member, we’re both gone to be in a waiting room and have less predictable schedules. Or, on the business side, we go to leadership conferences together, like Playbook. When we’re both out at the same time, it can put a strain on our directors leading without us. Another pitfall, perhaps, is that when we do disagree on something, our staff don’t know which sister to listen to until we work it out. Luckily, the longer we’ve done this and the further from direct service involvement we’ve gotten, this is less of an issue (easy for me to say! But I hope I speak for our team, too).
Working together and building a business wasn’t something we planned, but it’s been the biggest blessing about running TGP. And we both know it won’t last forever. The business will evolve, our roles will shift, or we’ll decide it’s time for something new. And when that time comes, we’ll navigate it the same way we’ve done everything else—by supporting each other.
Contact: Tara Gohr, President/CEO, [email protected]
This post was filed under: Inside TGP