Customer Reviews

Women in Family Business: What Keeps You up at Night?

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I wish this book had been around when we were involved in our family business! It is a comprehensive guide with extensive examples and very practical bullet points at the end of each section.

The different scenarios or case studies rang so true. And, although the realities are shocking and jarring to me (i.e. how women are STILL often regarded as second class citizens in family businesses), it is certainly better to be aware of the many pitfalls and develop a pro-active strategy.

A must-read not just for the women in a family business but everyone involved!

Excellent advice for every women involved, or about to become involved in a family business. I also encourage the male in a family business to pick up a copy to get valuable insights on often-overlooked issues that happen every day in family businesses.

As a family business coach, I encounter the issues described in the book, and many more, on a regular basis. Moreover, having experienced many of the issues described in my own life - first as the oldest daughter and sister to a younger brother working in a family business, then marrying into a family business and becoming the daughter/sister-in-law, and as the widow of the successor son - I find that the authors did an excellent job in capturing the main issues females deal with in a family business.

For the spouse, the book provides excellent insights and advice what you should be aware of concerning succession and continuity planning (chapter 3), and estate planning (chapter 5). The information described, is often not included in a way that serve your best interest when succession and estate plans are made. Therefore, it is important for you to be aware of the issues and take a pro-active stand. The book is an excellent starting point.

In addition, I agree with the information on what you should know as a spouse, mother, daughter-in-law, aspiring family business leader etc. It takes a shift in attitudes and you need to see things for what they are. I remember, while growing up, I made a promise to myself never ever to marry a man who had his own business, based on what I saw around me - my own family and that of friends. As things went, I married into one and started to remember what my mother told me. The advice she gave me was priceless. The authors captured many of the things and is a `must' read not only for the women already married into a business, but also for the ones about to do so.

Every family business is unique and, therefore, has a set of unique challenges; I find the authors captured the main issues and provide valuable advice and insights that can help you in your situation.

One bit of advice - while reading the book keep in mind that the book is organized around the roles of women in family business, and the issues as it relates to that specific role.

As an author, I loved the format. It's easy to read with practical solutions to some common problems for women in family business. As the book shows, you don't have to take a paycheck to experience the challenges in a family business.
Wish I'd had this little jewel 20 years ago when I married a man with loads of family business issues!!!
Congrats to the authors.





Family, Inc.: How to Manage Parents, Siblings, Spouses, Children, and In-Laws in the Family Business

Since this book is written from the perspective of the female as wife, daughter, stepdaughter and daughter in law, as a male I cannot completely place myself in the role of the target audience. However, as someone with a family business and the father of a daughter that has been working for that business for eight years, she is now seventeen; I do have a great deal of expertise regarding the subject matter. Also, I can understand the perspective of the male roles referenced by the case studies.
The authors do a superb job in describing many of the situations that can arise in the course of the development of a family business and how it is treated as an asset to be passed on to members of the family, whether the relation is genetic or marital. One of the best points of the book is the mention of the brutal reality that there are situations where it is best to just sell the business off and split the assets. That may be anathema to the person who built the business, but in some cases it is really the only option that preserves any value.
People that built businesses, and most of the examples in this book are male, tend to be strong, confident personalities. Transferring the somewhat abstract entity of the business and any assets to others is a complex task fraught with many ways in which resentment can be created. While the authors obviously could not present and resolve every possible situation, they do cover enough ground so that you will be able to find advice that will be applicable to your situation, whatever it may happen to be.

Being married to a business owner for over 15 years, I thought this book was very helpful and I appreciated the psychological and relational approach. It is very difficult to find information that specifically deals with roles women have in the family business, but who do not work in the business. I liked the practical advice and I related to the scenarios provided. There are a lot of women and men who would benefit from reading this book.

This book was just OK. I found its organization to be odd and sloppy. And thus I found its message to be diluted. When I picked up the book to read it I had hoped to see a good and sound business book on the ins-and-outs of issues related to women involved in family owned businesses. And I certainly found some of what I had hoped to read. But this book just did not do the subject justice in my humble opinion. I think if the book was rewritten as follows, then it would merit at a minimum a 4-star rating. And based on the quality of the writing, it would probably get 5 stars!

Part A: Overview of women in family business
1. Roles women play in a family owned business (FOB)
2. How succession of an FOB affects women in the family
3. Estate planning and the FOB
4. Compensation for family members in an FOB
5. Ownership interests and how they change in an FOB
Part B: Specifics regarding women in family business
6. Issues regarding the wife in an FOB
7. Issues regarding the mother in an FOB
8. Issues regarding the widow in an FOB
9. Issues regarding the stepmother in an FOB
10. Issues regarding the daughter in an FOB
11. Issues regarding the daughter-in-law in an FOB
12. Issues regarding the sister-in-law in an FOB

As the book currently is written it comes across basically as a compilation of little booklets. If you are the wife of the owner of an FOB, then you will read Part 1 (chapters 1-3). If you are the daughter of the owner of an FOB, then you will read Part 5 (chapters 10-12). And you probably won't read any of the other chapters in the book that don't pertain to you. And even if you did, you probably wouldn't get much out of them.

One of the problems I found with the way the book was organized is that it limited the discussion on pertinent topics. For example, Part 5 concerning daughters and their relationships with their father or their husband, just did not cover all bases. What about relationships with their widowed mother? What about their relationship with their siblings that manage the company? What about their relationship with their kids who expect to inherit? In short, the organization of this book just kills it.

Another issue I had with the book was the assumption that women generally don't run FOBs. It is assumed that they are primarily run by the men in the family. If this were not the case, then the material concerning the "widow" woman would have been written entirely differently.

I would have liked the book so much better if it had been more a "business book" than a psychology book. At times I felt like I was reading a Dale Carngie book on how to win friends and influence people. More of the advise here was how to fit in and be liked rather than how to be a meaningful part of a business or family business. 3 stars!

"For anyone interested in the interpersonal dynamics of women in family businesses, this is a great book. The authors bring a wealth of experience and smarts to the field. They understand that there are differences in the way men and women see the world, and the authors are not afraid to bring those difference to light.

I would highly recommend this book to any women with any kind of relation to a family business (whether they are a wife, sister, daughter, daughter-in-law, etc.). In addition, men would also benefit from understanding the unique perspective of the women in their business as well. Thank you to the authors for doing such a great job bringing a challenging topic to light.

- Steve Austin
Brookline, MA"

A very helpful and practical guide, based on real experience with both the problems and solutions posed by the complexities of families and business.--George Burns, business lawyer, Portland, Maine