Most of the world seems to crave attention, desperately seeking the limelight if only for a few seconds of fame. Yet many family-owned businesses go out of their way to avoid the public spotlight whenever possible.
But that doesn’t mean they are somehow uninterested in attracting customers or growing, says Paul E. Martineau, president of the Lincoln-based Employers Association. For these firms, staying out of the public eye “makes a lot more sense than you might think.”
Publicity – or the lack of it – “has nothing to do with growth” for many companies, Martineau maintained. “A number of family businesses do only a relatively small portion locally and regionally. They’re national, even international players, suppliers, producers.”
The association, a member-owned cooperative currently numbering 170, has been representing businesses and manufacturers for 112 years. “Eighty percent of our member companies are in the 25-150 employee range, with the smallest numbering eight people.” Martineau explained. “Twenty percent of the companies are large, [such as] Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Navigant Credit Union, Kinney Manufacturing.”
Not only do many of the principals in these companies feel attention isn’t necessary for growth, they believe it can even have negative consequences.
“Family, privately held or closely held businesses, particularly those involved in manufacturing, are averse to calling attention to themselves,” Martineau said. “They’re wary of strangers and outsiders. They’re very self-possessed, very insular, very conscious of tradition and the burden of responsibility and continuity.”
These companies are leery of the lasting attention a public spotlight can bring – from government officials who decide to investigate compliance with myriad rules and regulations; from attorneys and plaintiffs and even from competitors. In short, they’re wary of a host of potentially negative sources that don’t have their best interests in mind.
Some private companies neither seek nor shun publicity. London Health Administrators of East Providence, which provides third-party health care to other companies seeking to control or lower health care costs, is a family-owned business founded in 1964 and employing 16.
“Mostly we have long-standing relationships with clients who have been with us for many years,” said Managing Director Christopher Cote. “Of course we’re wary of bad publicity,” he chuckled, “but we don’t seek publicity and we don’t make it a priority. We’re of the old school of doing business: referrals, and building relationships based on service and recommendations.”
While the economic picture down South is much brighter, Ken Colbert, president of the 850-member Employers Association based in Charlotte, N.C., – not related to the Lincoln-based organization – agrees with Martineau’s assessment of the value of publicity – or lack thereof.
“It’s a mixed bag,” Colbert said. “Some companies crave attention, such as retailers who want to attract consumers. But if you’re manufacturing a sprocket or a gear that goes into another product, the average consumer isn’t interested and can’t relate.”
And there’s that niggling problem of a nosy government. “If you’ve got, say, 30 employees, and someone does a newspaper story,” Colbert continued, “OSHA may catch it and say, ‘This is a small manufacturer; maybe he’s violating some rules. Let’s take a look.’ ”
That isn’t a concern for Albert Valliere, president of Nation Wide Construction Corp. in Woonsocket. He’s been involved in family businesses with parents and three siblings virtually all his life, ranging from real estate, to show horses, roofing and siding, and for more than two decades has headed the contracting and construction business.
“Publicity wouldn’t make any difference,” Valliere continued. “We try and stay in the forefront in our client area. I’m personally active in the community, and we advertise with organizations that we do business with.” In recent years, with the slump in construction, Nation Wide’s staff has been reduced from 28 to 21, but still is a vibrant concern.
Meredith Wise, president of the 800-member Employers Association of the Northeast, representing Connecticut and western Massachusetts, thinks the current economic climate contributes to the reasons why public awards, kudos and other manifestations of attention just aren’t in the business cards for many businesses.
“So many different factors figure in,” Wise said from her office in Agawam, Mass. “A publicly traded company is going to be looking for recognition in the form of awards and accolades to build on or increase their marketplace or their share price. But a closely held business doesn’t have the same parameters. They operate in a different and often smaller environment.”
Nor, in today’s negative economic climate, do private companies have the time or sometimes even the resources to expend on local activities that can easily bring accolades and public attention, she added. “It’s up to the business associations and chambers of commerce to try and fill that need and recognition for them.” •
