At Lumina Festival’s Financial Literacy Summit, local entrepreneur Carlton Crockwell, the chairman and chief executive of Security Associates Ltd, delivered a candid warning to entrepreneurs: keep family out of the financial driver’s seat.

“Get connected with a good [chief financial officer],” Dr Crockwell urged during the panel “Built in Bermuda: Lessons from Bermuda’s Best-Known Owners” on Friday.

“Don’t go into your business unless you have a CFO and do not let the CFO be your husband or your cousin. Let them give you some good advice.” He reflected on his own experience, calling the lack of a qualified CFO his “biggest failure in my business that I started”.

Dr Crockwell’s advice comes as many small business owners face pressure to involve family in key roles. But, he warned: “Once you get this CFO, you may care about them [but] you don’t have to give them shares and sign over [the business] to them; make sure they have your best interests in mind.”

He also emphasised the importance of professional legal counsel. “Find a good lawyer that can review the documents for you,” he said.

Panellists echoed Dr Crockwell’s call for professionalism and financial literacy. Polina Branco, the chief executive of Celeste Ventures and Two Point O Collective, noted: “Financial literacy is huge. If you’re running a business, you really need to know that.”

The message: for business success, expertise must come before family ties.