In reality however, many family businesses are bigger and more complex organisations, where there is often:

• Confusion amongst the family and key staff about who is responsible for what
• No clear priorities, direction or overall business plan
• Uncertainty about the future ownership and management structure
• Inadequate or non-existent communication and decision making processes
• Strained personal and working relationships, and sometimes open tension or conflict. 

Working in my own family business and as a specialist family business adviser for over 25 years, I have come to understand the unique advantages and challenges associated with having Kin in the Game. 

I provide independent advice and support to assist families in business to clarify their roles and direction, transition leadership and ownership, and improve how they communicate and make decisions.

I do this through an innovative approach to empowering families in business to capitalise on their competitive advantage, called Tears, Sweat & Blood.

As a specialist family business adviser, I have the privilege of assisting people achieve a balance between two of the most important aspects of their lives, their relationship with their family, and the success of their business.

Ultimately, my role is to help my clients answer yes to the following critical questions: 

• Is my family better off by having this business?
• Is my business better off by having this family?

I look forward to hearing from you if you are grappling with these questions… I’m confident I can help.

Meet Martin

Commencing my career as a solicitor, I later joined and became Managing Director of my family’s highly respected and successful Melbourne-based funeral company, Tobin Brothers, before reinventing myself as a specialist family business adviser in early 2011.

Working for almost twenty years, with over fifteen members of my wider family (across four family lines and four generations), and over the last eight as a specialist adviser, I am acutely aware of the unique advantages and challenges associated with having Kin in the game.

Given these experiences, I have become a recognised leader within the Australian family business community, and through Kin in the Game, am able to draw on my extensive family business insights and experience to the benefit of my clients. Over the years, I have worked with, and exchanged views and stories with dozens of family businesses throughout Australia, and have become a trusted, independent adviser or Board member to many.

At a personal level, I receive tremendous support from my wife, Moira, who, as well as running her own business, assists with the administrative side of Kin In the Game, and does an amazing job caring for our four young adults, Darcy, Xavier, Finley and Gretel…so in this sense, I have a family business of my own.

In my spare time, I enjoy lively conversation, reading, good food, travel and spending time at our beach house in South Gippsland, and I try to stay fit through regular swimming, gym and yoga.

Since 1998, I have played an active role within Family Business Australia (FBA), the national peak body for family owned enterprises in Australia, serving on its Victorian Committee and National Board, before becoming an FBA Specialist Accredited Adviser, and Forum Group Facilitator.

As an FBA Specialist Accredited Adviser, I have demonstrated the knowledge and skills required to assist families in business to transition their enterprise to a more potent and sustainable stage of their development.

Over the years, I have attained the following commercial credentials:

• Bachelor of Arts & Law (BA/LLB) – Monash University
• Master of Business Administration (MBA) – Melbourne University Business School
• Barrister & Solicitor of the Victorian Supreme Court
• Licensed Estate Agent & Business Broker
• Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)
• Specialist Accredited Adviser – Family Business Australia (FBA)

My role as an independent family business adviser is to:

• Ensure all stakeholders in the family and the business have a voice
• Provide a safe environment for complex, sensitive & emotional issues to be addressed
• Professionalise communication and decision-making processes
• Facilitate, document and implement meaningful and sustainable change
• Collaborate with other advisers with expertise in related areas.

Above all, my core purpose is to empower family businesses to identify and capitalise on their inherent competitive advantage.