Meet some local family businesses

Bartlett Master Jewellers

Father and son duo, Kim and Jay have been working together for the last 30 years. “My introduction to the industry began as a young child, looking over my father’s shoulder, watching him design and manufacture pieces of jewellery for his valued customers,” recalls Jay. Now Jay’s son Harper has formally joined the Bartlett Master Jewellers as a school-based apprentice this year, marking the third generation of jewellers. “For us, the secret is we don’t usually separate business and personal life. We have a great relationship as colleagues, collaborators and friends with clearly defined roles, specialities and responsibilities. We value each other’s skills, expertise and knowledge.”

Image credit: Constantine Create

First Base Fitness

Sisters Brianna Morgan and Natalie Holmes says working together is made easier by their shared values, enabling them to collaborate effectively and work towards common goals. “Working together brings us both a sense of comfort and support, as we know we each have someone who has our back and is invested in each other’s success. When big decisions are required, it’s much easier when we know we have each other through any triumph or trouble.” As for how they separate business and personal life? “We have to be mindful when catching up as sisters that not every coffee date, dinner or walk is an informal work meeting. We schedule in times to talk work and try to keep our work and personal lives separate.”

Dan’s Country Meats

Dan and Kym Walton, the husband-and-wife team behind Dan’s Country Meats and Plants Meats Livestock Processing Facility in Charters Towers, have learnt to navigate the ups and downs of being in business together by taking on every challenge as a team. As Kym explains, “Communication is the key, you need to keep talking to each other, talk about problems and tackle them together, show each other full respect, support each other, and always make the time to sit down and discuss everything.”

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