Situations that can harm or destroy a family business are as many and varied as can be imagined, especially those which arise in the middle of an argument.  Your problems won’t likely be as famous as the Ford family’s problems – see the in-depth book by Henry...

Mistakes happen in both family businesses and in non-family businesses, however, the reaction in a family business to a mistake is different, but mistakes are equally consequential – to the business.  Here is what you need to know to deal effectively with the problem....

Welcome to our discussion of small business issues. In interviewing many people over the years about what one problem stands out in their mind as the most difficult to solve, it is the situation of being given another thing to tackle and resolve when your plate is...

Problem—We are a Dairy Business in a college town.  We have three daughters but no sons.  Our oldest daughter works with our father as the leadership team.  He watches the bottling; she deals with our customers who sell us milk.  Our second daughter is the financial...

Problem—Our oldest son is finishing college and will be married.  He has worked with us and has a good understanding of our business.  He has a good relationship with our father.  How do we ensure that he joins us after his graduation and marriage? Answer—It is...

Question—What should we do when we need to hire a person who is not a member of our family? Answer—Look very carefully to find a person who will fit well into your family and do your job well too. This task is probably the most often questioned in family businesses. ...

Problem:  Our Son is In High School and is on the Jr. Baseball Team which he thinks he wants to pursue when he is out of school.  He helps us when we need him if it does not interfere with his baseball.  How do we get him to commit to joining our business? Answer: ...

Problem:  Our family usually does well working with each other.   Of course, there is the occasional disagreement between parents and children where situations in the business result in an impasse where cooperation becomes impossible. Solution:  Family business...

Is this you? "Our family is close at work, but it seems like we never get to the problems and issues that divide us in life.  This has been going on for years and I am afraid we are drifting apart, emotionally, and living in siloes so we cannot really communicate with...

Sales in your store have been falling for three months.  (Use a three-month or other sufficiently long period of time so real trends can be easily seen, i.e., consistently falling over a time period in a way you have never experienced before.)  What should you do as...