The Legacy of Perth’s Oldest Painting Company

All the way back in 1933, AJ Cochrane & Sons master painters and decorators formed. They’ve been through the Great Depression, real estate bubbles and of course, COVID-19. Over 90 years later and four generations in, they have painted homes and businesses all over Perth and Western Australia – with over 60 industry awards to show for it.

It’s safe to say that AJ Cochrane & Sons have achieved the dream of a continuing legacy, making it through periods that a lot of contracting companies haven’t survived. 30% of businesses make it to the second generation, 10-15% to the third and 3-5% to the fourth. AJ Cochrane have defied the odds – how did they do it?

Considerations Before Passing the Torch

At a certain point, it’s time to let go of the reins and pass on the business to the next generation. But there is a major worry that it won’t continue to the standard you have set – if at all.

So, there is a lot of preparation needed to ensure that your family business succession is successful.

Family businesses experience their own special set of risks and problems, including:

- high emotions and power struggles

- current generation waiting too late to pass on

- uncertainty in vision and documentation

- unresolved issues continue into succession

- lack of or poor planning for the future

In an effort to avoid these things, make sure that your son or daughter wishes to continue the business. It may seem obvious, but too many businesses end up being sold by disinterested children or rebranded.

The main thing that business owners need to consider is a succession plan. It needs to be precise and realistic with a timeline, necessary documents, business valuation and funding. Owners need, at the very least, 5 years to start their plan. Use this time to choose your successor and pass on your values and management tips.

While it can be confronting and time consuming, develop governance protocols to formalise structures, including dispute resolution. Having a lawyer help will make creating the plan a lot easier and legally ironclad. If there are multiple successors, plan how money and responsibility will be split up. A Family Executive Board may also be helpful.

Your successors need to be aware of everything involved in running the business. They also need to understand and accept that their first couple of years might not look like your last couple of years. Give them the tools and strategies to push through.

Upholding the Brand

As time passes and the company reputation grows, the next generation taking over is not the time to cheapen the brand.

Part of your succession plan needs to involve the values, goals and style of the business. For AJ Cochrane, that means trust, quality and expertise – values that don’t appear overnight, they grow over time. The knowledge and skills passed down through generations, shaped by experience on properties of all types and ages, are assets that simply can’t be sourced outside the family business.

And of course, the successors of these commercial painters in Perth needed to work hard to earn the respect of other employees and managers as they stepped up into leadership. There is risk in losing a trusted manager and close friend to the owner’s child, so it needs to feel like the right choice overall was made.

While family businesses have special risks, they also have special opportunities. Family values like pride, resilience and cohesiveness can lead to strong anchorage and bonds within the company – and faith of the community. Resilience, in particular, is a big one. It needs to run through the whole family and company, not just built on the personality of each generation. Show the next generation what you have gone through, giving them roots to ground themselves in.

Choosing the ‘cheap and fast’ branding breaks down the decades of effort predecessors have put in and destroys a reputation in mere moments, increasing the odds for a failed succession.

Let your successors know to make use of the already successful brand – and make sure it aligns with their own values too. That’s how Perth painters AJ Cochrane & Sons have made it through four generations and counting.