Finding the Money & Keeping It Straight

Family Owned Business – The Ins & Outs

A family-owned business may be defined as any business in which two or more family members are involved and the majority of ownership or control lies within a family. Family-owned businesses may be the oldest form of business organization. Farms were an early form of family business in which what we think of today as the private life and work life was intertwined. In urban settings, it was once normal for a shopkeeper or doctor to live in the same building in which he or she worked and family members often helped with the business as needed. Source: Inc., Family-Owned Business

The There’s Money Out There team delves deeper into the topic of family-owned businesses with our expert guest, Phoebe Coles, CEO and Founding Partner of a family-owned marketing company. 

Phoebe Coles

Phoebe Coles, CEO Community Marketing Concepts

Ms. Coles has worked consistently for 20 years in the “people” business. Her joy comes from helping communities address their needs. Ms. Coles is CEO and Founding Partner of a family-owned marketing company, Community Marketing Concepts.

She has 20 years of experience in various aspects of marketing, communications, and media campaign implementation. Her past project experience includes campaign development, project management, tactical execution, advertising copywriting, script development, media placement and program evaluation. She has managed contracts reaching target populations in excess of 6 million people regionally.

Ms. Coles communications approach is steeped in community engagement as a catalyst for behavioral change. Her subject matter focus areas include health education, STEM education, and environmental responsibility. Ms. Coles has a specific ability to “drill down” marketing messages to a target audience for resonance and relevance. She has provided outreach and message localization in support of national marketing and media initiatives including street team management, special event programming, and media placement.

 

 

 

Our discussion with Ms. Coles focuses on:

  • Funding options for a family-owned business,
  • What happens if one defaults,
  • Best practices for doing business as a family and,
  • Succession and ownership transfer

Listen To The Podcast Below
 [sc_embed_player_template1 fileurl=”https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wpfsi/Family+Business.mp3″]  

Additional Information

According to Wikipedia, a family business is a commercial organization in which decision-making is influenced by multiple generations of a family—related by blood or marriage. They are closely identified with the firm through leadership or ownership. Owner-manager entrepreneurial firms are not considered to be family businesses because they lack the multi-generational dimension and family influence that create the unique dynamics and relationships of family businesses.

Inc. also notes Issues In Family Businesses stating, “A family business can be described as an interaction between two separate but connected systems—the business and the family—with uncertain boundaries and different rules. Graphically, this concept can be presented as two intersecting circles. Family businesses may include numerous combinations of family members in various business roles, including husbands and wives, parents and children, extended families, and multiple generations playing the roles of stockholders, board members, working partners, advisors, and employees. Conflicts often arise due to the overlap of these roles.” 

Issues In Family Businesses

Another common concern is funding the family business.

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There’s Money Out There