Frequently Asked Questions

We facilitate lasting business success and family harmony for our clients. When it comes to family companies, business operations often get in the way of harmonious family life, and dysfunctional family patterns get in the way of a profitable business life. The traditional, textbook, technical solutions to most problems associated with family companies don’t usually work. Family owned businesses have unique needs, and those needs require unique solutions.

Q: How do you help?

We help family businesses in radical ways: we actually talk to the stakeholders invested in the outcome of the family enterprise to try to determine their dreams, wishes, and desires. We interview not just family members employed by the business but also their spouses, key executives, family members who aren’t employed in the company, and others who may be influential in business family affairs (such as the family’s CPA or attorney). We bring an outside perspective and common sense to resolve sticky family business issues. Our experience in successfully resolving hundreds of family difficulties over the years has taught us that if there is hope and a real desire to improve the situation, win-win solutions exist, successful implementation is within your reach.

Q: I rely on my advisors (CPA, attorney, etc), why do I need you?

The Family Business Institute does not compete with any of your existing professionals. We don’t prepare tax returns or perform audits, and we don’t write contracts or practice law. The work we do complements the work done by your other professionals, and we partner with those individuals to resolve the uncomfortable issues that often face families in business together. Rather than focus on one relatively narrow part of the family owned business equation, we take a broad, holistic approach to understanding the family and the business. We also provide “soft” services to family companies like improving their communications abilities and creating comprehensive business strategies that traditional advisors don’t usually offer.

Q: How do we contact you?

Click here or simply give us a call at 877-326-2493.