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Succession planning for transitioning your family business
April 1st, 2024
Image: © Andrei Dodonov, Dreamstime.com I began working with business families in the late 1990s with RSM McGladrey in its family business consulting practice. I was working on my doctoral degree and hoped to gain experience working with leadership development in the “real” world. Then, as my journey continued, I worked with business advisor Tom Hubler […]
HGTV stars reanimate neighborhoods while growing a family business
November 4th, 2020
If children dress up like you on Halloween, it might be safe to say that you’ve made it. Made it, that is, as television stars, as have HGTV’s “Good Bones” hosts Mina Starsiak Hawk and Karen E Laine. The mother-daughter team were featured keynote speakers Nov. 4 at the IFAI Virtual Expo 2020. “So many […]
Richard Seaman on sustaining a family business
March 1st, 2020
By Rebecca Post An urgency runs through the pages of Richard Seaman’s book A Vibrant Vision: The Entrepreneurship of Multigenerational Family Business. That urgency stems from Seaman’s understanding that few family businesses survive beyond a third generation. Seaman, the chairman and former CEO of Wooster, Ohio-based Seaman Corp., offers a model to family-owned businesses for […]
Textiles and Lifestyle
February 1st, 2020
Textiles have become more responsive, providing health and wellness benefits while creating worlds of possibilities for manufacturers and users alike. by Pamela Mills-Senn It wasn’t long ago that the demands placed on textiles were relatively straightforward. Whether apparel, furnishings, car seats, bedding, medical fabrics or others, textiles were tasked with meeting a generally standard set […]
Before selling, determine the true value of your company
January 1st, 2020
By Larry Oxenham Succession planning can be a tricky matter, especially if you’re passing your business on to a family member. Sometimes keeping it in the family is viable, but not in every case. If it comes time to sell the business instead, you should be armed with some strategies for getting what it’s really […]
Michele Quadri-Butterfield keeps Al’s Awning Shop up to date and focused on customers
June 1st, 2019
by Jill C. Lafferty Photos by Daniel J. Smith Photography The mission of Al’s Awning Shop is to be the leading provider of quality fabric solutions and to be dedicated to providing professional customer service and exceptional products,” says owner Michele Quadri-Butterfield. “Fabric solutions is key for me. It’s about taking a fabric and helping […]
Women’s work: challenges and rewards in the specialty fabrics industry
January 1st, 2019
Since the earliest days of civilization, women have sewn garments, constructed the tents they called home, and woven the textiles that made life more comfortable and defined distinctive cultures. Over the millennia, textiles produced by women have been essential to life and enterprise. As industrialization made these goods profitable, however, the textile world became a […]
Transitioning to new leadership for the family business
June 1st, 2017
Kate Mitchell transitions her diverse fabrics business on the Alaskan frontier to her children- who value a courageous past and anticipate a bright future. We didn’t homestead like the Kilcher family from Discovery Channel’s ‘Alaska: The Last Frontier,’ but we were here before the roads were paved,” says Kate Mitchell, founder and co-owner of NOMAR […]
Blair Belluomo brings a strong and appreciative management style to the family business
September 1st, 2016
I went to school with many kids whose parents had businesses, and they thought that just because their parents ran a successful business, they could just step in and be successful as well,” says Blair Belluomo, owner and president of Belle Isle Awning in Roseville, Mich. “So many of them failed because they hadn’t had other […]
Envision, build, repeat
March 1st, 2016
Michael Catalano treats his clients as strategic partners—and that keeps them coming back. "We have a saying here: It’s not about the first job. It’s about the next job,” says Michael Catalano, CEO of Capitol Awning Co., Jamaica, N.Y. “And probably 90 percent or more of our work ends up being repeat business.” Michael Catalano […]