Family-Owned Businesses - PBN.com - Providence Business News

The way to make sure only good things come out of owning and managing a family-owned business is through consistent communication. READ MORE

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Despite industry trends, these businesses endure

Bigger is better. That seems to be the mantra in American industry today. One by one, this or that business is swallowed up by national and international chains.

When business, family intersect

The director of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Family Business Center has a New Yorker cartoon posted on his door that depicts a man speaking to a cluster of young children. He is saying, “I’ve called the family together to announce that, because of inflation, I’m going to have to let two of you go.”

Investment in survival can help firms thrive

While the troubled economy drags along in search of a recovery, many family businesses are making the most of enduring relationships and long-term perspective not just to survive but thrive.

Friends and family can be potent business mix

Michele Cross and Lisa Patterson have been business partners for almost three years, but friends for close to 30. They first met while working as waitresses and now run Popcorn Guys, a Seekonk company that provides popcorn equipment and supplies.

Going national requires plan, outside help

QVC viewers are used to seeing John Pezzillo, the ladle-wielding pitchman for Westfield Foods’ Millie Soups, adeptly stirring pots of his mother’s soup mixes while extolling their nutritional value and taste.