Leveraging Your Family Business for Public Relations Opportunities

Posted in DCFBA Blog, General Business Practice, Management, Marketing | Post By Joel C. Susco, CPA, Principal

Posting by Joel C. Susco, CPA

Your family business can make the best product or provide the best service, but if no one knows about it, you may not stay in business for long.  It seems silly to mention that marketing and public relations (“PR”) as necessary tools for a family business, or for any business for that matter, because of course they are […]

Whose De-Fault is It? It’s All Greek to Me…

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown

I was reading an article the other day about some of the budget woes facing various states across the country and it’s not a pretty picture, as several may face default at some point over the next few years.  For example: in ten years the state of Illinois will have to pay $14 billion annually in pension benefits, which will amount to roughly 25% of its budget.  I found that astounding.  Georgia’s infrastructure, which is […]

Family Businesses Have a Powerful Marketing Differentiator

Posting by Joel C. Susco, CPA

Every day, we are bombarded with marketing communications.  From the television to electronic and print ads, to Twitter and Facebook, there is no denying that there is a battle going on for our attention.  Most marketing communications tend to slide right off of us like Teflon.  Are limited-budget companies hoping to make meaningful, lasting impressions on their target customers completely screwed?  If you are a family-owned and -operated company with a couple generations under […]

The Key Steps in Succession Planning – Part 1

Posting by Jacqueline M. Thompson, CPA, Principal

A small business owner once told his accountant that he was not interested in having a succession plan.  “Why not?” asked the accountant.  The small business owner replied “Because I want it to be a sad day for everyone when I die.”  That owner knew the importance of having a succession plan but he wasn’t willing to do anything about it.  Why?  Perhaps he knew how much work was required to insure that […]

Cherry Blossoms and Family Business Blossoming Time

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA, Principal

Spring is here in Washington, DC and that means it time for the famous cherry blossoms.  I only bring it up as this is probably the best weather we’ve had for the cherry trees in a good ten years, with four perfect spring days at the height of the blossoms.  So, if you’re in the DC area, this is a good year to try to try to see them, along with throngs of […]

Talkin’ Bout My G-G-G-Generation: When Generations Collide in Family Businesses

Posting by Joel C. Susco, CPA, Principal

If we weren’t talking about family businesses in this blog, and instead were just focused on businesses in general, this same topic could be approached – generational differences in the workplace.  But since we do focus on family businesses, the issue has an added dimension.

Let’s take the maternity leave issue as an example.  In the first generation of “Smith Family Widgets,” the matriarch of the family 50 years ago may have done books […]