If there’s anyone you can count on in life, it’s your family. They’re always there when you need them to point you in the right direction and to lend a helping hand. Family-run businesses require a gentle balance between keeping family and business separate. It’s a challenge, but also rewarding as your bonds with each other grow and strengthen. Hidden under a canopy of trees in La Lucia lie family-run Beside Still Waters Boutique Hotel, Gatvol Coffee, Neighbourhood Café, and Teddi Vandersteen. Within this little oasis, you’ll find an open-air, lush garden space with flowing streams, koi ponds, and trees decorated with fairy lights.
Their business started as a boutique hotel for out-of-town travellers. When COVID-19 hit, multiple family members were without jobs and the hotel was two months shy of closing down, taking the staff’s livelihood with it. So they decided to open their gates to the public for the first time ever, using available resources to serve coffee and a basic menu. From runners and businesspeople to moms and Uber drivers, “neighbours” just kept showing up in support. Two years later, this is a space where strangers feel at home.
Parents, Mary Ann and Russell own and oversee the business, property, and maintenance. Russell makes sure everything runs without a hitch. Candice, their daughter, manages the boutique hotel, while her husband, Marchiano, runs Neighbourhood Café and Bar. Their other daughter, Sam, runs the kitchen and HR. Caleb, their son, runs Gatvol Coffee alongside his wife Teddi, who also has a tattoo studio, called Teddi Vandersteen, on the property. Their other son, Sphe, oversees guest relations and everything in between, while their daughter, Jasmin, manages social media and branding.
How do you separate family and business time?
Short answer—we’re working on it. When you work together, especially in hospitality with different demanding schedules, it’s hard to separate the two. But we find each other in the moments in between—in the hugs when times are tough and the laughter when Mary Ann pulls a prank on one of us and most of all, in the grandkids. Little Nevaeh and Reign are a blessing because they’re a constant pull for us to be present together.
How do you handle challenges working together?
The biggest challenge in any family business is defining where each person’s responsibilities start and end, and then working at staying within them to ensure everyone flourishes in their giftings. With that comes learning to trust each other’s unique abilities and perspectives and allowing each other to “run with it”.
Share a memorable moment from your journey as a family business
I think, for all of us, the moment that defined our journey was the day we realised we had two months left until we would need to sell our family home of 35 years along with the boutique hotel which was our only source of livelihood. We got around the dining room table, held each other’s hands, and prayed together. We prayed for new ideas, for God to take what was in our hands and make more of it. And today, more is here.
It hasn’t been easy, because with more blessings comes more responsibility, and we still have our scary months and moments. But it hasn’t changed where we run to in those moments. And it will never change our purpose to be a space where all types of people can come and feel a sense of home and belonging.
What advice do you have for families starting a business?
Clearly define your roles. Respect each other’s expertise. Trust each other’s intuition. Treat every new thing as an experiment so that when it doesn’t work pride and fear don’t get in the way of trying again. But most of all pray together.
Words: Cristina Govender