📙 Part 2: Describe a person you know who runs a family business

This Episode's Vocabulary

Stand out (phrasal verb) – to be much better or more important than someone or something else. → Someone who stands out in particular is Steven.

Run a business (verb phrase) – to be in charge of; to manage a business. → Steven runs a well-known family bakery.

Pop into (phrasal verb) – to visit a place for a short time. → I've spoken to him when I've popped into the shop.

Down to earth (idiom/adjective) – practical, reasonable, and friendly. → He's always been really friendly and down to earth.

Been around for (phrasal verb) – to have existed for a certain amount of time. → The bakery itself has been around for more than a hundred years.

Take over (phrasal verb) – to begin to have control of something. → Steven took over the business from his father.

Best known for (verb phrase) – to be famous for a particular thing. → They're best known for their traditional Scottish baked goods.

Keep (something) alive (verb phrase) – to continue to have or do something. → He's managed to keep the family traditions alive.

Revamp (verb) – to change or arrange something again in order to improve it. → The shop interior has been revamped.

Carry on a legacy (verb phrase) – to continue a tradition or history left by previous generations. → For him, it's about carrying on this kind of legacy.

Dedication (noun) – the willingness to give a lot of time and energy to something because it is important. → I really admire his dedication.

Continuity (noun) – the fact of something continuing for a long period of time without being changed or stopped. → It's a symbol of tradition, community, and family continuity.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Hello, hello dear listener and welcome into IELTS Speaking Part two. We've got an interesting topic for you today. Describe a person you know who runs a family business. You should say who this person is, how you knew him or her, what family business he or she does, and explain why he or she runs the family business.

Maria: Rory, give us your story. Rory's story.

Rory: Well, I know a few people like this, but someone who stands out in particular is called, it's a man called Steven, who runs a well-known family bakery in Dundee called Goodfellow and Stephen. It's quite a famous local business, actually, and I got to know him a few years ago through a friend who worked there part-time, just while they were studying.

I've spoken to him several times since then, when I've popped into the shop, and he's always been really friendly and down to earth. The bakery itself has been around for, oh God, it must be more than a hundred years, and it's still run by the same family. Steven took over the business from his father, who managed it for decades before retiring.

They're best known for their traditional Scottish baked goods, like butteries , bridies , shortbreads , but they also do fantastic modern cakes and pastries as well. So, if Scottish cuisine isn't your thing, then there are other things to choose from.

What's really impressive about Steven is how he's managed to keep the family traditions alive while adapting to more modern tastes, I suppose. He's introduced new recipes. The shop interior has been revamped and there's also stuff on social media all the time. So, that helps attract younger customers as well.

Despite all these changes, he's been very careful to maintain the same quality and community feel that people associate with the bakery, and that's quite good. He once mentioned that he runs the family business because he feels it's part of his identity, and it connects him to Dundee and, well, his family's history, I suppose. For him, it's not just about selling bread, it's about carrying on this kind of legacy that's worked well, for generations before him, and they've worked hard to build that.

I really admire his dedication and the pride that he takes in his work. It's clear the bakery isn't just a business to him. It's this sort of symbol of tradition and community and family continuity as well.

Maria: And what about other people? Do they like the place?

Rory: When I've mentioned it, they say they like it, but it's not a common topic of conversation.

Discussion

Maria: So, dear listener, the topic is about a person you know who runs a family business. So what's a family business?

Rory: A business that is owned by a family in particular. It's not desperate individuals.

Maria: Usually a single family owns it. A restaurant, a cafe. Hairdressers, right? But usually you can talk about a shop, a restaurant, a cafe, right? So, you can choose your favorite cafe, even if it's not family owned, you can say that, yes, it is owned by family. A father and his son or mother and her daughter. Or the whole family. So you can just imagine stuff, talk about your favorite cafe and say that, yeah, it's owned by a family.

You can start off with, "I know a few family businesses, but the one which stands out in particular is Love Coffee." I don't know, or a bakery, or one shop where I go to, to buy vegetables. The person who runs a family business, runs means controls, manages. So we run a business, meaning we manage a business. We control, we have this business. And I know some people, but someone who stands out in particular is Steven or Bob or Margaret, who runs, who manages a bakery. Rory talked about a famous bakery in his city. So it's quite a famous local business. So a local bakery. You can talk about a local restaurant, cafe, shop.

I got to know him a few years ago. So I knew about him. I met him. I found out about him a few years ago. I got to know him. This Steven who owns this business. I've spoken to him several times. So here we are using Present Perfect. "Oh, I've met him several times." I've spoken to him when I popped into the shop. A very nice phrasal verb, pop into. So I popped into the shop. And this Steven who owns this business is friendly, he's down to earth. Rory, what does down to earth mean?

Rory: Oh, level-headed or mature, sensible.

Maria: And we can use Present Perfect when you talk about a cafe, you can say this cafe, this bakery, this coffee shop has been around for more than 20 years. Or, it has existed for a long time. And usually, family businesses are they have existed for a long time, normally.

Rory: Normally. Yeah. Well, I mean, one or two generations.

Maria: And it's still run by the same family. So this restaurant has been run by the same family for many years. Steven took over the business from his father. So when we are talking about the family business, somebody takes over the business. So first his father ran the shop or the restaurant and then his son took over the business. And his father retired, he became a pensioner, he retired and his son continued his business.

Rory: He took over the business.

Maria: You can say that this shop is best known for something. Or this cafe is best known for traditional Scottish goods. And then you are specific like what exactly? Rory named, butteries, bridies, what, Rory, we don't understand these words. butteries, bridies, shortbread. What?

Rory: Shortbread is just a kind of biscuit with lots of sugar on it. I'm simplifying here. A bridie is a kind of pie. However, if you even if you don't know what these are, you could talk about some specific local delicacies or local cuisine to describe what your local business or your family owned business makes. So it doesn't have to be the things I talk about. It could be anything. And as long as you either say the words or describe them, then it's okay.

Maria: Yeah, if you're talking about a cafe, you can name specific products that they sell. Like, "Oh, they're best famous for or they're best known for their traditional brownies or cheesecakes." And just pastries in general. Right? So they're best known for their delicious pastries. Oh, yum, yum, yum. And the pastry is anything which is made from flour, water, fat.

Rory: I thought you were going to say, it's anything that's made from paste.

Maria: From paste, yeah, usually cakes, bread, cakes. And you can say that, "they're best known for a lovely selection of cakes and pastries." What's really impressive about this place is. Is how they manage the business, how they keep family traditions alive. As usually a family business is about traditions.

Rory: Is that a cleft sentence? "What's really impressive is?"

Maria: It is. Super grammar for band nine.

Rory: We use this structure to draw attention or emphasize something. "What's really impressive is" or "what's very interesting is." It's funny because it sounds like it's a question, but it's not. It's a sentence.

Maria: And you can also say that, they've introduce or they usually introduce new recipes, so how to cook certain things. They change the shop interiors, so the design is modern. They use social media to attract younger customers. Kind of a business, right? So we have marketing, design, products, family traditions. So they set up a social media presence. So they post, they record reels. And they are very careful to maintain the same quality.

Rory: However, if your business doesn't have any of these things, you could say it's not been revamped but it's still nice, or they don't have a social media presence, but they don't need one.

Maria: And what do you mean by revamped?

Rory: Revamped? Oh, God, like renovated or made better or improved, made more interesting.

Maria: Revamp, dear listener. To change or arrange something again in order to improve it. So it's a good verb. And usually we revamp the management system, revamp offices.

Rory: Yeah, it's usually to do with improving the image.

Maria: Image. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The company revamped their image. And a family business is usually about quality, family traditions, and also community. So they maintain their community. So the same people usually go to this place. So everybody knows each other and they go there regularly. And if you know the owner, you can say that he runs this business because he feels it's part of his identity. He feels he's connected to the city, he's connected to his family's history, and his family or her family has been doing it for ages, so he's part of this history. So it's not just about selling bread or selling coffee. It's being part of this family's history. It's about carrying on a legacy.

Rory: Ooh, that's a good one for talking about the family business.

Maria: It's not just business, it's legacy. And legacy is a C2 word, band nine. Legacy is something that is a part of your history that remains from an earlier time. And earlier time in this context it's generation from from generations before. So from your relatives before. My family has left a legacy. It's about carrying on a legacy. You're continuing this history.

You can finish off with saying that "I really admire his dedication." Dedication meaning that his willingness to give a lot of time and energy to something. So he's dedicated to his business. He has always shown great dedication to his business. And you can say "I admire his dedication and enthusiasm."

Rory: We show great dedication to our business.

Maria: And you can say, "I admire his the pride he takes in his work." Because he's proud of his work.

Rory: Well, if you own the business, you're likely to be proud of it.

Maria: So it's not just a business, it's a symbol of tradition, community, and family continuity. So continuity, meaning this legacy, he continues his family's legacy. Continuity is another C2 word, dear listener, band nine. Continuity. The fact of something continuing for a long period of time without being changed. So we are talking about family traditions, and you say, legacy, so carry on legacy and also this business is about tradition, community of people, and continuity. It's not just a business, it's not just selling something, but it's about continuity. So, for example, they value tradition and continuity. So in this cafe, they maintain traditions and they continue doing what they've been doing forever.

Sweet. Dear listener, how are you doing? Now you can make a choice, you can steal Rory's story, or you can talk about a cafe, a bakery, a shop. But use is the words, okay? Or just imagine the whole thing.

Rory: Regardless of what you talk about, it does not have to be a bakery, it could be any business and there will be words here you can use. For example, runs a family business. I pop into the business or I nip into the business. We can describe the owners as friendly and down to earth. Positive adjectives for any person. And then we can also say that it's been around for and then a period of time. And of course, you can use, "what's really impressive" or "what's very interesting is" to draw attention. So, it doesn't have to be about a bakery. It could be about any family business. There you go.

Maria: Thank you very much for listening. And we'll get back to you in our next episode. Okay?

Rory: Bye.