Posting by:  Eileen O’Connor, CFP, MBA
Date: February 22, 2010

In my more than 15 years as a management consultant, I have spent quite a few years working alongside (and competing against) McKinsey & Company, a leading strategy consulting firm, on a wide range of strategy and operational issues for Fortune 500 companies.  So it was with great interest I read a recent white paper published by the firm discussing the five attributes of enduring family businesses. 

“The keys to long-term success are professional management and keeping the family committed to and capable of carrying on as the owner.”

Posting by:  Geoff Brown
Date: February 8, 2010

For those of you who get snow but don’t live in the mid-Atlantic region, it’s hard to understand how paralyzing a two-foot snowstorm can be.  But the area governments simply don’t have the resources to cope and these storms are so infrequent, that the result is that many areas stay unplowed for days.

Our Family’s Weekend

So, we’ve sat here at home this past weekend, well prepared with lots of food and firewood to “enjoy” the snow as best we can.  The storm began on Friday, February 5, and at 2 am Saturday morning we lost our power.  We were very lucky though because it came back on at about 2 that afternoon.  We did lose one of our heat pumps, though, and have had no heat in the downstairs since.  As a result, the fireplace has gotten lots of use.

We ventured out today (February 8, 2010) and went up to the store for a few things, and on the way back I saw a heating and air conditioning truck in a neighbor’s driveway.  I stopped and asked my wife Susan if she thought they might come to our house and she said she’d go in and ask.  When she came out after talking to the technician, she called his office and scheduled an appointment to check our heat pump for later today. 

Posting By: Margaret Wilson
Date: January 22, 2010

In that quiet week between Christmas and New Year’s, I really enjoy cooking gourmet meals for my family. It’s a chance to try new recipes, get creative with interesting ingredients, and of course, indulge liberally in the results. So a few weeks ago, I dashed into Wegmans to pick up one or two things for an evening meal. I came out with an armload of groceries and a new appreciation for family business customer service. Here are just a few things I observed.

Posting by:  Jacqueline Thompson
Date: January 19, 2010

Around the world, businesses have been handling the global economic crisis in a variety of ways, including downsizing, changing management, cutting bonuses, acquiring other businesses or being acquired, even closing down all together.  There is an element to the family business that is quite different from a non-family business, and it seems in these tough times, being family can be an advantage.

Posting by:  Joel Susco
Posting Date: January 15, 2010

Talk to any family business owners about their board of directors, and you'll most likely get a wide variety of questions in lieu of answers.  How large should the board be?  Should the board even exist?  Is a board necessary when the founder or the founder's child is running the company?  Should a board include non-family members?  Why is that? 

Why Sometimes It’s Good to be Board

Some family businesses are good at what they do, but are hesitant to establish a forum that is perceived as a place for conflict, therefore stalling when it comes to establishing membership for a board of directors.  After getting past the fact that a board is a necessary resource for an organization, there is a school of thought that outside members of the board may make a valuable added contribution to the company, bringing an additional layer of perspective that the family dynamic might not come up with.  Their interests are different, their views not clouded in family history or their right of passage.

Posting by:  Geoff Brown
Date: January 11, 2010

A CPA down to my soul, I decided to focus on a few tax items for my blog post this month – I just can’t help myself.  There were a couple tax relief items for businesses that were passed into law last year and may be of some interest to family businesses. 

Nothing but Net – Net Operating Loss Carryback

The first tax change is for Net Operating Loss Carryback.  This measure, to get a refund of tax monies back to small businesses carrying losses, had been limited to two years, but has now been extended to five.  The carryback to the fifth year is limited to 50% of the income for that year.  This is an attempt to provide businesses that suffered losses an opportunity to recover back taxes paid and boost cash flow.  Another relief item is the change in “Section 179” expensing.  This provision allows you to write off tangible personal property in the year placed in service, instead of depreciating it over several years.  For tax years beginning in 2009 the write-off amount is now $250,000, which is double the amount allowed in 2008.

Posting by:  Debra Andrews
Date: December 23, 2009

Well, we’ve been seeing them trickle in since around Thanksgiving.  Snowy scenes, stockings, warm wishes, thanks, reflections on the year and hopes for the following one.  Some secular, some specific to a creed, religion, etc.  Names are printed mostly, sometimes signed, and occasionally there is a picture taken just for this.  What are these December darlings?  The company holiday cards.