Family Business

May 17, 2012 - In addition to being aware of the economy and capital markets on a macro-level, as well as what is happening in their respective industries, owners of family businesses must consider their personal goals and the goals of their shareholders when it is time to move on.

March 31, 2011 - How to compensate has been a dilemma since the hunting and gathering societies. From communism to capitalism, mankind has questioned the value of work, education, time and brawn. Even within capitalism, we range from "performance bonus" to "union scale" - a wide variety of employment reward systems to say the least.

Sept./Oct. 2009 - The critical balance between the business and the family in business-owning families is in constant flux. No recent era would attest to that more than our current economic situation.

November 5, 2009 - As a business owner, most of your time is spent managing the business and the employees, especially in today's tough economic times. Unfortunately, too many business owners don't give enough thought to what will happen to their business if they die, and how the business can be passed on to their spouse, children or family in the most tax efficient and least costly manner.

July/August, 2009 - Can you think of a time when your advisors were more important? Probably not! Certainly, no time has seen the kind of economic drama and trauma we have lately.

May/June 2009 - My parents used to marvel at the memory of Win Schuler. We made the stop in Marshall, Mich., every time we traveled the I-94 corridor and "the consummate host," as Win Schuler became known, would greet us at the door and call us by our names.

March/April 2009 - Isn't it amazing that when the term "family business" is used it conjures up images of mom and pop operations like the corner party store or dry cleaner? For those of us who work with family firms, we know that the images couldn't be further from the truth.

January/February 2009 - While most have heard of sweat equity, in case you haven't - it is the hard work you put in theoretically beyond your compensation in hopes of a future reward. Sweat equity is the foundation on which many family firms are built.

November/December, 2008 - How families who have family businesses can create workplace conflict by not setting proper boundaries.

 

September/October 2008 - Careers may be marathon runs - but they do have a beginning and an end. That is unless your career is serving as the head of a family business.

July/August 2008 - Is there something in the universal human condition that says that a family-operated business tends to fail when the grandkids take over? Is it being accelerated in the digital age? Columnist Richard Segal explores the idea in Family Business.

May/June 2008 - Although the family has chosen to remain anonymous, it seems that they too may have run out of interested family to continue the business. There were seven family shareholders and only two were actively in management. The managing family members were in their 50s when they decided that it was time to explore the "sell option."