When Family Is Also Your Team: A Conversation with Lilly & Joanna

Working with family sounds like either a dream or a disaster. This episode is proof it can be the former — but only when the foundation is right.

Amber sits down with her oldest daughter, Lilly McCue (Director of Operations and Marketing Operations at Amber McCue), and longtime business partner Joanna Tiger for a candid conversation about what it actually looks like to build a business alongside the people you love. This was recorded at the request of a client who wanted to know: how does it go? And does it really work?

Spoiler: it does. But not by accident.

In this episode you'll hear:

• How Lilly got her start — pulling quotes for Twitter at nine years old — and the quiet-quitting moment in 4th grade that set the tone for their whole working relationship
• Why clear roles and deep trust are the two non-negotiables for making family dynamics work in a business
• What "assuming positive intent" looks like when it's actually lived — not just written on a values doc
• The unspoken rules that hold their team together (including who's not allowed to touch the CRM)
• What Amber would tell any business owner considering hiring a family member — including the conversation to have before you start

 

If you've ever wondered whether letting your worlds collide could actually work for your business, this one's for you.