Family Business

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Choosing a Board of Directors for a Family Business

It's important that current or future members of a family business understand best practices for assembling a Board of Directors (BOD). That's why we explore this in depth as part of a basic family Read More...

Category: Education and Teaching

Author: Whitney Peake

Being Female Affects Business Loans from Family and Friends

It’s been said (ruefully) that Ginger Rogers had to perform the same dance moves as Fred Astaire, only backwards and in high heels. Unfortunately, this also holds true for women seeking Read More...

Category: Theory and Research

Author: Kimberly Eddleston

Confidentiality Agreements Promote Candor in Family Business Classes

For students from family businesses to fully benefit from participating in a family business class, it is essential that they open up and share their experiences, both good and bad. The more the Read More...

Category: Education and Teaching

Authors: Kimberly Eddleston and Devina Raithatha

Investing for a Better World: A Conversation with Justin Rockefeller

Perhaps no other family is more synonymous with both capitalism and philanthropy than the Rockefellers. The family ’s fortunes in oil have made it possible for them to invest in initiatives that Read More...

Category: Interviews

Author: Kimberly Eddleston

Why Family Firms Are Like Jenga

With ties that bind emotionally and legally, family businesses are different from non-family firms:  sensitive, easily disrupted and conflict-prone. But in this interview with FamilyBusiness.org Read More...

Category: Interviews

Author: Kimberly Eddleston

The 'Fredo Factor:' How Deadbeats and Troublemakers Hurt Family Businesses

The Corleones of "Godfather" fame are an extreme example of a “family business.” But like many family businesses, they have a family member who is a serious hindrance to their business, is less Read More...

Category: Applied and Practice

Author: Kimberly Eddleston

To Engage Business Students, Roll Out 'the Barrels'

Many of us may remember the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books from childhood. In these tales, the story develops to a point and presents a scenario choice to the reader. Depending on the choice Read More...

Category: Education and Teaching

Authors: Whitney Peake and Teran Sundy

Future Family Business Owners Can Learn to Manage Conflict

Conflict is inevitable in family-run businesses.  Learning how to manage it and channel it productively is an important skill for entrepreneurship students who may someday manage their own Read More...

Category: Education and Teaching

Author: Ritch Sorenson

Changing the Face of the Construction Industry

The construction industry remains stubbornly a male-dominated field, but Emily Bittenbender of Bittenbender Construction is giving it a new face and a new approach to managing.  At age 29 she Read More...

Category: Interviews

Author: Donna De Carolis

Advice for Non-Family Executives in Family Businesses

Ritch Sorenson, Professor of Family Business at the University of St Thomas in Minneapolis, once worked at a bank founded by his grandfather.  When it closed, he felt a personal loss that Read More...

Category: Education and Teaching

Author: Ritch Sorenson