Employment Law Solutions’ Jen shares her thoughts on fellow director and brother Kevin J Murphy’s 10 years with the company.
When I joined the business in 2017, Kev and Alf made me an equal shareholder without me asking and despite them having built the foundation of the business.
At the time, I did not see how significant or generous this was but it reflects the fundamentals of how we work together. We are fair, we share responsibility and we are all equal.
Over the years, Kev has worked hard to create a business that thrives and gives us an awesome work-life balance.
Kev is the core of this business. He is “the face” of the company. I am happy for Kev to take centre stage: he gave me the opportunity and taught me how running a business is different from having a job. I’ve learned so much from him and watched in awe as he’s charmed and chatted his way around meetings, bringing in sales. Everyone loves Kev.
He has supported me through pregnancies and covered for me when secretly it’s me who wants everything labelled in the office!
Aside from supporting me, Kev is the doer of this business. He is the driving force behind us. Where I overly-prioritise clients, he works away in the background. He set up another company for us, he managed buying and renovating the office, he invoices… he just gets stuff done… admin, computers, ordering… things which I don’t get around to. I trust him and rely on him.
We don’t always need to share our opinions anymore; we see eye to eye on everything from brand colours and office artwork to team development, finances, and business growth.
People often ask about how Dad, Kev and I work so well together. I say, “I don’t know how it works, it just does.” However, it thrives due to mutual trust and support… which all started when they split the company 3 ways with me. 💚
We listen to each other, and we respect each other. We actually enjoy hanging out together. Yes, we go on family holidays too as there’s nobody else who will play Bananagrams repeatedly with me! 🍌
We’ve only had two real disagreements (aside from Kev playing Kylie Minogue all.the.time!). One was down to my pregnancy mood swings (whoops).
The other was that initially, I was too corporate. I lost sight of what our business was about and how ‘people buy from people’. Kev saw me as undermining his hard work in growing the business. I wish I could tell my younger self to relax. At the time, Dad stepped in and reminded us of the opportunity we had to grow a thriving business and create a good life for ourselves – with fulfilling work and time outside of work. Thankfully, we listened! Since then, Kev and I have been on the same page, with Dad’s continued guidance.
Our business is not comparable now to 2017, we have smashed our goals and targets.
I am so lucky to have a fantastic brother and a brilliant business partner.
Congratulations Kev and thank you for building something awesome with me. You rock!
Here’s to many more years of growth at fun Employment Law Solutions! 🥂
