Small Business Toolbox

A library of business management info


Working With Family
  • Practicing Law Is a Family Affair
    11/01/2007
    Jeff and Andrew Grossman, attorneys from Columbus, Ohio, share more than a surname. The father-son duo also partner in one of central Ohio's most successful, well-known domestic relations law firms. Through the years, their firm has represented some of the biggest names in Columbus, and it's common knowledge that if the Grossman firm is involved in a divorce, the case likely involves big names, even bigger egos and deep pockets.
  • Working With Family
    10/02/2007
    Working with family members can be everything from pleasant, productive and rewarding to divisive, frustrating and decidedly unpleasant. The proximity driven by work can bring family members closer together in satisfying relationships, but it can also create stressors that foster hard feelings and drive people apart. All is dependent on the personalities of the individuals involved, their understanding of their roles and their willingness to accept them, and the prevailing style of management. In this article, we'll address working with family in two contexts: the family-owned and operated business, and the employment of relatives in a business that is not family-operated.
  • Compensating and Promoting Younger Family Members in a Family Business
    06/01/2007
    As anyone in a family business knows, the family dynamic of a business offers many benefits--and a few concerns. Two of the chief concerns that founding members of a family business often have are the adequate compensation and promotion of younger family members.
  • When Work and Home Collide
    04/02/2007
    When working with a spouse, or even when working on a team with other employees, let each person play to his or her strengths.
  • Are Small Businesses More Family Friendly?
    05/26/2006
    An article in the June/July issue of MyBusiness, "The Lure of Small," explored why employees are leaving corporate America to work for small businesses. According to a recent study from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Center for Leadership, many women who have taken time off from the corporate world and want to return to work are finding more opportunity at small businesses.
  • The Lure of Small
    05/25/2006
    Ever feel second best when you're looking to hire a new employee? Compared to small businesses, large corporations have more money, name recognition and benefits to attract the best and brightest employees. But bigger doesn't always mean better.
  • Working for Your Parents: Pros and Cons of Joining the Family Business
    01/25/2006
    Perhaps you credit your entrepreneurial spirit to being raised in family business––but that doesn’t mean you should take the business over. Before you partner with your parents, here are few pros and cons to consider.
  • Keeping the Family Business in the Family Through a Living Trust
    06/30/2005
    When it comes to transferring a family business, you have several options. One way that works well is to form a living trust, transfer the business to the trust and name your child as the successor trustee.
  • Succession Strategies for Family-Owned or Closely Held Businesses
    12/28/2004
    Running a family-owned or closely-held business is a challenge. It is difficult to keep it up and running. Forty-three percent of family-owned businesses will pass from one generation to the next, thirty percent of those will survive the second generation and less than 15 percent of those will successfully pass to the third generation.
  • Keeping It in the Family: Special Advantages and Disadvantages of Hiring Friends and Relatives
    06/25/2004
    Many small-business owners believe that bringing family members and close friends into their company will create an especially harmonious group of employees. Doing so offers specific advantages, but also opens the possibility that the smooth operations of the company may be compromised.
  • Are You a Good Boss to Yourself?
    05/03/2004
    It's important to know when you can turn that inner-taskmaster off and relax for a few minutes.
  • When Your Business Partner Is Your Spouse
    03/12/2004
    Couples who work together know that being married and in business can be great or lousy.
  • Help Your Family Business Run More Smoothly
    08/21/2003
    The deep-set relations often found within a family can serve as the foundation for successful company growth -- or it can become the basis for arguments and grievances.
  • Working With Children When Working at Home
    04/04/2003
    When children need -- or demand -- your attention during work hours, tensions can develop.
  • Transitioning Your Family Business to the Next Generation
    03/12/2003
    When you own a family business, the natural assumption is that one day your children or another family member will take over.
  • Kids at Work
    10/15/2002
    As you stretch to answer the phone with a fussy baby balanced on your hip, you may wonder why working from home sounded glorious at first.
  • Family Firms Face the Future
    10/01/2002
    On top of all the difficulties of running a small business, these entrepreneurs have layered the unique issues that come from working with your relatives.