High Ground

Local businesses helped create holiday joys

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:24:00 +0000

by Gale Martin, director of marketing and member relations, S. Dale High Center for Family Business

Goods and services from numerous local and family-owned businesses certainly brightened the holiday season for me and my family. Of course, I made an effort to frequent members of the High Center for Family Business as much as I could. I believe in them and what they have to offer. You support them -- you support the health of the regional economy and support their capacity to employee your friends and neighbors and buy good and services in our own community.

Oregon Dairy Supermarket

So after purchasing some novelty items in the Gift Shop at Oregon Dairy--jewelry, Christmas ornaments, housewares, I visited Central Market where I picked up homemade jam, a table runner, a pie, two-dozen cookies, and some linen napkins. Then my husband made a trip to Johnny's Steak House in Reamstown for a gift certificate for his brother and his wife.

We purchased books as gifts at two independent bookstores--Aaron's in Lititz and Wise Owl Books in West Reading.

On Christmas Eve, I stopped in at another member family business of the High Center, Stauffers of Kissel Hill, to pick up my standing rib roast and other trimmings for my holiday meal.

Cafe Chocolate in Lititz

After Christmas I headed back to Central Market for more jam and salsa. Then my daughter and I visited the locally owned and operating Cafe Chocolate in Lititz for lunch (instead of a chain restaurant.)

Did it take longer to frequent all these different places to obtain the things I needed for hoiday gifts and entertaining. Yes, it was not as convenient as shopping at a big one-stop shopping superstore, that's true. It was not as cheap either--though the prices were competitive in many instances, and the quality of the food and items was substantially better.

Did I patronize as many locally owned and operated businesses as I should or could have? I would say there's always room for improvement. But I am happy to report that I am taking more care with each buying decision to more carefully consider where I am spending my money and who will most benefit from the purchase.

If sustainability doesn't start and end with those of us who live and work in this community, than whom do we expect will support these privately held enterprises? How will they survive?

Not to mention that my shopping was more enjoyable, even fun.

How about you? How did you do this holiday season in supporting local businesses? Is it important to you to make the effort?

Happy holidays from the S. Dale High Center for Family Business

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 19:46:00 +0000

Opportunities in Marcellus Shale 'Play' for PA Family Businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:10:00 +0000

Where is the Marcellus Shale footprint?

It has been called the greatest single business development of our lifetimes, one that is expected to influence the business landscape in Pennsylvania for the next 50-100 years.

It refers to the development related to drilling for natural gas within Marcellus Shale, the second-largest gas find in the world. In fact, experts from Fulton Bank and Clermont Wealth Strategies believe that in five to seven years, Pennsylvania could be the largest exporter of natural gas in the world.

An estimated 200-250,000 wells will be drilled;
9,500 permits have been issued to date;
2,000-3,000 wells will be drilled a year; and
Gas companies will spend $4-5 million per well for site prep, construction, transportation, waste management, and $1 million per mile for pipeline development.

Business development opportunities that banking experts identified as significant areas for growth by industry include excavation, hotels/hospitality, lumber, trucking, catering, metal fabricating, landscaping, engineering, environmental, feed mills, car dealers, jewelry stores, and legal services.

So how does a Central Pennsylvania business outside the Marcellus Shale footprint obtain business in the region. Experts recommended that your business development officers begin networking now with those companies who are hiring contractors and providers of good and services.

Attend vendor/business expos in the region, meet people. If you have a particular expertise in one of the key business areas mentioned earlier, make sure you are meeting people who know your company can do.

If Marcellus Shale development were a baseball game, we would only be in the first inning. With the investment of tried and true business development practices, that's plenty of time to step up to the plate, hit that home run, and run the bases.

World Business Forum Allows Student to Apply His Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:46:00 +0000

by Marc C. Weber, Class of 2012, accounting major at Elizabethtown College

How can one describe being in the same room as a former President, a former Treasury Secretary, CEOs, and other influential business leaders? Humbling? Intimidating, perhaps? Attending the World Business Forum was an amazing experience because not only did I get the privilege to listen to these influential individuals speak about current issues in business and leadership, but also because I had the opportunity to critically analyze their points of argument, reconsider some of my previously held beliefs, and, in some cases, disagree with their points.

Student attendee Caitlin Setlock's photo of Bill Clinton at WBF 2011

Although the forum was only two days long, I felt that I was able to apply so much of the knowledge that I acquired through my education. When Bill Clinton stepped up to the podium, everybody including myself stood up to give him a standing ovation. Being a student, I could easily become overwhelmed by the fact that Bill Clinton was speaking to me and easily agree with everything he said. When he began to speak, however, I analyzed his arguments from an objective standpoint and formulated my own thoughts. For example, Bill Clinton is a huge proponent of opening up the credit markets to small businesses so that they can recover from the recession by expanding both domestically and internationally. While I am in favor of small business expansion, I do not believe that opening up the credit markets in the manner that Bill Clinton proposes is the correct way to promote expansion. Credit markets need to be somewhat open, but at the same time allowing deserving business access to funds while limiting the access to funds to non-creditworthy businesses.

Attending the World Business Forum was truly an amazing and once-in-a-lifetime experience. I never attended an event at which I applied myself as much as I did at the World Business Forum. Learning from world business leaders, interacting with Elizabethtown College professors Dr. Sandu and Dr. Neuhauser and fellow student Caitlin Setlock on a personal level, and just visiting New York City was an experience that I will be forever grateful for.

Marc was one of a team of five faculty members and students who attended the World Business Forum representing Elizabethtown College, sponsored by The High Companies.

World Business Forum Opens Up Professor's Mind

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:29:00 +0000

by Emma Neuhauser, Assistant Professor of Finance, Elizabethtown College

Attending the seminars at the 2011 World Business Forum was truly rewarding. The Forum opened up a person’s mind to issues involved in various areas of business management. What impressed me the most included the following:

1. ‘’The Key to leadership in twenty-first century is to empower people” – Bill George. He suggests that “self-awareness and legacy impact people” and “we shall never doubt a small group of people to change the world”. As an educator of Business and Finance, especially given the recent turbulence and crisis of the financial market, I had been advising all students in and outside of classrooms how the knowledge and skills gained in Finance can not only aid their and their families’ lives but also influence others in our community. More important, leadership is crucial to success, students at Elizabethtown shall have a strong believe that their actions could turn our troubled economy around, and thus act now!

2. “…It’s about teaching yourself that everything is interesting.” – Malcolm Gladwell. Being a lifelong learner myself, I always set examples using my own experiences to tell my students that school is not only a place to get a degree for wall décor but more important a learning experience that would carry them for the rest of their lives. Obtaining the techniques and enhancing the capability of learning and studying are more important than simply agreeing with whatever being taught in class and the text book. In addition, Mr. Gladwell highlighted one key attribute of a successful person, that is: the willingness to take social risks. Indeed, we all face the moment of saying to ourselves: "I know this is right, but if I proceed… How would my friends, family, others in the community perceive my actions? How would they respond to it?” Quite often, we end up giving up the action even if we think is right. This is not only a barrier to our personal success but also deter the advancement of our society.

Dr. Neuhauser was one of three Elizabethtown College faculty members and two students attending the 2011 World Business Forum in New York City, sponsored by The High Companies.

World Business Forum engages E-town College team

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:43:00 +0000

Dr. Petru Sandu

by Dr. Petru Sandu, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship & Management, Elizabethtown College

The World Business Forum took us to a journey into our future, sometimes intriguing but always fascinating. Most presentations were invitations to dream and grasp our common future while making the audience aware of many challenges ahead.

As a result of this creative environment, the team of students and faculty from E-town were engaged in impassioned discussions on many conference topics. The main debate was on how our education, careers, and social life could be touched by the various economic, business, social, and cultural trends presented by leading thinkers. This event is an opportunity to challenge what you know and motivate you to further explore and create.

Dr. Sandu was a member of a five-person team of three E-town College faculty members and two students who attended the 2011 World Business Forum, sponsored by The High Companies.

E-town student inspired by 2011 World Business Forum speakers

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 14:27:00 +0000

by Caitlin Setlock, Elizabethtown College student attendee

As I entered the Javits Center I tried to get the closest seat to the stage with my paper and pen, eager to hear what each speaker had to say. In front of me sat the CEO of Burberry and to the right of me were Bloomberg employees. College students were nowhere to be found. I am so thankful to have the unique opportunity to attend the World Business Forum at such a young age.

All topics were intriguing and full of beneficial advice to enhance your company as well as your personal life. Listening to some of the most successful businesspeople worldwide discuss the steps they took to achieve their career goals helped me understand the importance of innovation and authenticity.

Jack Welch, WBF 2011

An audience member asked Jack Welch, who was the CEO of General Electric for 20 years, what advice would he give young adults for their personal career path:

“Career paths are like a ping pong machine--you are always bouncing from one opportunity to the next,” Welch replied.

Overall he explained that you should keep your values in mind, be highly motivated, and do not be afraid to take the best opportunity for yourself.

As a college student preparing to jump in to the job market with an unstable economy and unemployment at a standstill -- my concerns are high. Jack Welch’s advice along with other speakers gave me inspiration and hope, that no matter the circumstances your goals can be achieved with high drive and determination.

Build your ownership team for long-term success: Family business retreat

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:27:00 +0000

Dr. Stephen R. Treat, facilitator

Long term competitiveness in a family business depends on the unity of the family ownership group. Investing time and effort in the shareholder team of the family business is a critical strategy issue.

To help you achieve your goals of family unity and long-term prosperity, the S. Dale High Center for Family Business at Elizabethtown College is offering a two-day retreat for family business owners on Thursday evening, October 13, and all day Friday, October 14, featuring expert facilitators trained in family business dynamics: Dr. Stephen R. Treat and Michael N. McGrann.

This retreat includes sessions to help you build ownership unity while defining the strategies and structures that are necessary for success across multiple generations. The outcome of your investment will be a stronger ownership team and critical tools for strengthening your business.

This seminar will provide you with tools to:

Manage "difficult conversations"
Improve your leadership of the family system
Develop stronger communication skills
Develop skills for next generation of entrepreneurs
Strengthen accountability and feedback throughout the organization
The retreat will also include two facilitated family meetings.

Dr. Stephen Treat is a senior therapist and an ordained minister who maintains his own clinical practice at the Council for Relationships in Philadelphia where he works with individuals, couples, and families. He has counseled companies such as Accenture, ASI, Cigna, as well as many family-business organizations. He received his doctorate from the Andover Newton Theological Seminary in 1976.

Michael N. McGrann is the executive director of the S. Dale High Center for Family Business. He has conducted seminars for family businesses, executive education programs, and personalized educational workshops for family groups around the world. He also provides consulting services to family businesses that need assistance with leadership transitions, developing accountability structures, empowering next generation teams, building unified shareholder groups, and identifying the unique characteristics of a family business that can produce a competitive advantage.

The retreat is on a cost-basis and is open to High Center members ($2,000 for up to four family shareholders) and non-member family businesses ($2,500 for up to four family shareholders). For the retreat schedule and other information, click on the link to the PDF. Or contact the S. Dale High Center for Family Business at Elizabethtown College by emailing fbc@etown.edu or phoning us at 717-361-1275. You may also visit our website at www.centerforfamilybusiness.org

Quote of the Week- Success, Failure, and Mark Cuban

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 13:00:00 +0000

It doesn't matter how many times you fail. It doesn't matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you. All you have to do is learn from them and those around you because... All that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are. ~Mark Cuban

Family Businesses Need to Care for their Ownership Group to Stay On Top

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 20:09:00 +0000

by Mike McGrann, Executive Director, The S. Dale High Center for Family Business


Family meetings can have enormous impact on the long-term success of a family business

Leaders of publicly traded companies spend up to 50% of their time dealing with Wall Street analysts and market expectations in order to please their shareholders. This often leads to a short-term perspective and over-emphasis on quarterly vs. long-term results. One of the advantages family businesses have over publicly traded firms is that they don't face this kind of short-term pressure.

However, I can tell you from experience that one of the weaknesses of family firms is that they often don’t spend enough time focused on their shareholder groups.

Things couldn't be simpler when the founding entrepreneur is also the Chairman of the Board and the sole shareholder. Yet when family firms become multi-generational, the leadership model of the founding entrepreneur no longer works. A shareholder group comprised of multiple family members, multiple family branches, even multiple generations requires proactive management… if the family wishes to remain a family business. Ultimately, it is the unity of the family shareholder group that determines the long-term success of a family firm.

One of the most powerful tools for building this ownership unity is a family meeting. In fact, the simple act of holding a family meeting in which information is shared and ideas are considered has an enormous impact on the family. Our research shows that family meetings lead to higher levels of trust and satisfaction, a sense that we share beliefs, overall perceptions of agreement, more positive views of the future, and lower perceptions of risk.

This last impact can be particularly powerful – when a shareholder’s views their stock as less risky, they implicitly require a lower return on capital… thus the firms cost of capital declines... and the opportunity for higher overall return on equity exists.

If the prospect of a family meeting is a little daunting, consider that you really only need focus on these big picture issues:

a) what are the goals of the family and what are the values that should be reflected in the business;
b) how are we creating accountability for our management team;
c) what kind of performance do we expect from this business (at a big picture level…);
d) how should the family interact with the business (is working in the business an entitlement or an opportunity?)

Mike's Bottom Line: Your family business may be the furthest thing from a publicly traded company. But if you treat your ownership group with equal or greater regard than CEO's, you'll gain the dividends of a stronger company.

Local business leader to head up Women's Family Business Group

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:07:00 +0000

Joanne Ladley

Family business entrepreneur, consultant, and business coach Joanne Ladley will facilitate the Women's Affinity Group in 2011-12, for the S. Dale High Center for Family Business at Elizabethtown College, Center officials announced today.

"Joanne brings decades of experience operating and growing a very successful business. She is an exemplar who can offer women who also own and operate family businesses a great deal of expertise," said Michael N. McGrann, executive director of the High Center.

Joanne Ladley is an owner of Kitchen Kettle Village, her family business, a Lancaster County hospitality enterprise located in Intercourse, Pennsylvania. There, she led operations, marketing, and administration for 30 years, during which time Kitchen Kettle Village grew to include 40 shops, restaurants, and lodging rooms.

She is also the founder of Kitchen Kettle University, which teaches small businesspeople how to grow their business. Besides family business consulting with the North Group, she specializes in Corporate Culture, Executive Coaching, and Leadership Team Facilitation.

Five times yearly, the Women's Affinity Group meets at Elizabethtown College to discuss issues from the unique perspective of the woman owner or principal in family business. The group is both a discussion forum, which has gained popularity among family business professionals, and an accountability group which requires participants to articulate and meet their stated goals toward professional and personal growth. This year, each group meeting will focus on aspects of leadership such as strategic leadership, advocacy, and leading by asking questions.
The Women's Affinity Group is a fee-based program founded in 2009 by former director Mary Beth Matteo, and is one of five discussion forums based on the level of experience within family- or closely held businesses offered for Center members. It meets five times a year at the High Center and is currently accepting enrollees. The theme for this year's group meetings is women in leadership.
More information on High Center membership or participation in the Women's Affinity Group is available at 717-361-1275 or at fbc@etown.edu.

Quote of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:00:00 +0000

In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later. – Harold Geneen

A Class Act from Fulton Financial Corporation

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:00:00 +0000

J. Austin Good
Class of 2014

By J. Austin Good, Class of 2014, Accounting Major at Elizabethtown College, S. Dale High Center Intern

This past semester (Spring 2011) I was enrolled in a Career Planning Seminar taught by Professor Joseph Molony. Mr. Molony is an adjunct professor at Elizabethtown College and also an advisor at the S. Dale High Center for Family Business. While providing personal insight as to the opportunities available for students, he was also able to bring in business executives from the central Pennsylvania region to share their own career paths. Presentations ranged from Will Gooding (GSM Roofing) to Hunter Gross (Armstrong) and Mark Legenstein (Certified Carpet). Each executive provided information regarding their career choices and advice for us students. Jim Shreiner, a senior executive vice-president at Fulton Financial Corporation-parent of Fulton Bank, and an alum of the college, gave an especially informative overview of the banking industry.

Mr. Shreiner described the banking crisis in great detail, carefully explaining the reasons behind the economic downturn. Although many banks were caught red-handed with bad loans and defaults on mortgages, Fulton Financial Corporation managed to weather the storm because of their conservative approach to banking. They did not fall victim to high-risk securities since they saw the risk as being greater than the reward, which in turn was quite accurate. Fulton has continued to grow and gain strength within their industry with numerous banks located in the eastern United States. Jim Shreiner shared much information on banking and the changes that have occurred since he entered the industry after college, but he also gave a personal testimony regarding his own career path.

James Shreiner
Class of 1973

After managing a local State Farm branch office for 2 years, Mr. Shreiner found a home with Fulton Bank. He had steadily climbed the corporate ladder until his early sixties where he was capable of being the next President of Fulton Financial Corporation. However, the Fulton Financial Corporation Board of Directors appointed a younger executive as president for greater long term continuity. Mr. Shreiner was not denied the position due to ability, rather timing and external circumstances did not allow him to have a chance at becoming the next president. Jim Shreiner took the change in stride and continues to perform well in his current position.

His story is a great example of being able to work well with colleagues regardless of career path and position. I find his attitude to be one that should be adopted by more people, as we are often quick to look out for our own good and slow to promote the company for which we work and the people with whom we work. So next time things do not work out well from a personal standpoint, try to congratulate those who receive the promotions and keep a positive attitude about your own work so as not to negatively affect your personal performance.

Fulton Bank is a corporate partner to the S. Dale High Center for Family Business and has many area family businesses as customers.

Five Best Family Business Tweets

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:27:00 +0000

by Gale Martin, Director of Marketing and Member Relations, S. Dale High Center for Family Business

Many first-rate publications Tweet their content

on Twitter, one article at a time.

Day in and day out, our High Center Twitter feed coughs up some inspired content which is then aggregated into The Family-Business Daily online broadsheet.

Here's five of my favorite content Tweets from the previous week:

3 Tips for Leading People Older Than You - from the Harvard Business Review. Because I help facilitate a forum for next generation family business leaders, I know this is an important topic. The workforce is aging, and family businesses are known for valuing longevity with their employees.
Experience Gained Outside the Family Business Can Be a Plus - from Crain's Cleveland Business, which looks at issues affecting the entrepreneurial economy.
How I Nearly Tripled My Blog Traffic - by Ken Mueller at the Inkling Media blog. In the true spirit of social media (which is give more than you get) Ken shares some wonderful tools and what are sure to become best practices for social media marketers.
Does Entrepreneur Education Have Value? Can It Be Taught? - by Babson College. The Executive Director of the High Center Mike McGrann, formerly a professor at Babson, absolutely concurs that it can and should be taught. That's why he teaches a New Venture Creation class at Elizabethtown College now. For senior execs who want their next generation to exhibit more of their own enterprising spirit, this is an important read.
Entitlement on Steroids - by Paul and David Karofsky. This is a bald-faced look at "an attitude of noblesse oblige gone awry" among next generation family business leaders.

So there you have it! Happy reading, and if you aren't following these folks on Twitter, if you don't have time for Twitter, all you need do is subscribe to The Family-Business Daily--it arrives every day in your preferred email Inbox.

Quote of the Week

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:04:00 +0000

"People are definitely a company’s greatest asset. It doesn’t make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps." – Mary Kay Ash (founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics)

Manage Family Business Succession To Reduce Its Sting

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:48:00 +0000

by Mike McGrann, Executive Director, The S. Dale High Center for Family Business

Choosing a successor can be hard
on siblings.

Did you know that family-owned businesses are responsible for 60 percent of total employment in the United States? Here’s a chilling statistic from the Mass Mutual Family Business Survey 2007:

Fifty-five percent of CEO’s set to retire in five years have not yet chosen a successor.

If family businesses constitute the backbone of the

American economy, why are nearly half of their executives compromising future viability by failing to put a succession plan in place?

Succession is a tough nut.

Leadership succession is hard for everyone. According to a recent article in Newsweek, large publicly traded firms struggle with succession. It’s an inherently difficult process. Add to that process all the family dynamics that have given family businesses a negative connotation, especially in the U.S, per that same Newsweek article. Throw in a host of family business leaders who equate succession with death because they have nothing to transition to once they are “out” of the business because they failed to acknowledge their own departures, and it's no wonder succession is easier to avoid than tackle head on.

For the successor generation the succession process can be painful, too. It can feel as though the child chosen to succeed the outgoing leader has won the prize whereas all other children in contention have lost. Who wants to create that kind of conflict and tension within the family?

How to manage family business succession.

The good news is that succession can be managed with a good process that is neither magical nor difficult to understand. One of the things family businesses can do is empower a board that includes a few directors outside the family business to help manage the development of new talent and choose a successor. The final decision can be based on requirements that have identified the most qualified successor to lead the business (as opposed to perceived favoritism), which will minimize family pain.

If you are five years out from your retirement, there is still time to roll out a healthy succession plan. The longer you wait, however, the more you limit your ability to develop a talent pool of successors.

Mike McGrann

Mike’s Bottom Line: Succession doesn’t have to be all gloom and doom. It can be managed if executives can get their head around two things—plan for business leaders to transition up and not out; and follow a proven process of using a board to help manage succession.

Co-Presidency Doesn’t Work for Most Family Businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:00:00 +0000

by Mike McGrann, Executive Director, S. Dale High Center for Family Business

Mike McGrann

It’s not uncommon for family businesses to have two rising executives (two siblings, two cousins, etc.,) both of whom feel they are the right person to become the next president.

If that sounds like your family business, should you be thinking co-presidency? It may seem like the easy answer to a tough succession decision.

However, the fact that it is an easy answer does not make it the right approach. There’s a good reason why the United States has only one president. I am reminded of a comment from former U.S. President George W. Bush, the guest speaker at the 2011 Lancaster Chamber dinner, who said, “The President gets lots of input from many sources. My job was to make the call based on the information available.” In this system, there is no ambiguity about who is responsible for making the tough call.

Family businesses, like all organizations, require a clear hierarchy to function effectively…and having one highly qualified individual at the top of the organization is the most effective way to achieve a clear hierarchy. The challenge with co-presidencies is that, by their very nature, they lend themselves to ambiguity about who makes what decision, and when that decision can be made. This kind of ambiguity at the top of an organization is deadly and quickly leads to confusion, organizational inefficiency, lack of productivity, etc.

Is a co-presidency right for you?

Often the decision to appoint co-presidents is often made because of the potential family conflict that would arise if one family member is chosen over the other. The merit of who is really most qualified to lead the company gets lost in the fear of conflict and hurt feelings that one family member “won” and the other “lost” in the succession marathon.

This is not to say that co-presidents cannot work. In fact, Mars and Smuckers, two of the most competitive and successful food manufacturers in world have long history of effective leadership from two brothers who served as co-presidents. Tim and Richard Smucker operate their business based on a clear set of roles for each brother, constant communication between them, and a high of degree of trust in each other.

So if you are leaning toward co-presidents, you’ll need crystal clear roles and a process for resolving disagreements when the roles of the co-presidents overlap (A&B below). A Board of Directors can be effective in this role.

Mike’s Bottom Line: If you are going to appoint co-presidents of a company, it should for the right reasons: you have two highly qualified family members with distinct skill sets whose roles and responsibilities have been clearly delineated—not because it is the easiest way to avoid a family conflict.

Integrating Social Media into the B2B Marketing Mix: One Success Story

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 14:20:00 +0000

Kristy Mellinger
Hometown Provisions

by Kristy Mellinger, Marketing Director, Hometown Provisions

If you're uncertain whether B2B's should be engaged in social media marketing on Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In, this is the story of how I successfully integrated social media into Hometown Provisions' B2B marketing mix.

As a bit of background, Hometown Provisions is a family-owned wholesale foodservice distributor that sells to restaurants, supermarkets, pizza shops, farmers’ markets, educational facilities and more, in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.

Hometown Provisions
Headquartered in Lancaster, PA

In November of 2009, I was lucky enough to enter the business as the first Marketing Director, so I was able to create the company’s marketing strategy and plan and guide it as it developed.

I chose to redesign our website as my first task, because I did not think the information that our previous website had on it represented our company accurately. I wanted our staff to confidently direct customers to our website for useful information. My goal in the website redesign was to make sure that there was enough information on our site to meet our current and prospective customer’s needs as well as potential future employees, and ultimately, to increase company awareness and revenue and create lead generation.

In order to accomplish my website goals, I integrated social media into our site, by putting direct links on our website and having a blog within our site. I wanted open and honest communication so that customers were as informed as they wanted to be, so that their expectations were met. and that no information was ever misleading. Social media allows for this two-way communication with our customers while increasing our Internet presence.

Here are the steps that I took to incorporate social media into our marketing mix.

Screenshot of new website

1. I chose to use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a Hometown blog (What's New) on our website. Facebook because of its user friendly interface for posting company information, pics and articles. Twitter won a spot, mostly because of the additional exposure that it gives our business and my web designer recommended I use it (which now I am grateful that I did). LinkedIn was chosen because of the professional exposure it gives us, being able to use it for job openings and to possibly draw future employees to our company. Lastly, I started a blog on our site that allows me to post monthly specials, weekly recipes and important delivery or closure announcements.

2. Being a B2B business I was not sure exactly how social media would benefit our customers, but I still decided to incorporate it into our website and figure it out as I learned more about what our customer’s needs were.

3. After the website was launched I began to figure out a schedule for Hometown’s blog, Facebook and Twitter pages. What truly helped me was to study the food industry and to find articles and other blogs that would assist me with my posts. I joined a few industry relevant groups on LinkedIn. I also signed up for email lists on food related blogs. From all of this information I sift through and decide what information would be relevant to our customers.

4. What I like about social media is the amount of open communication that happens. I have found it helpful to “follow” or “like” customers on Twitter and Facebook and to support them by promoting different deals that they have going on. It is also nice to learn more about our customers based on what they post!

5. Most recently I incorporated email blasts, through Mail Chimp. This service allows customers to sign up for a weekly email newsletter, that sums up the week and gives a sneak peak into future specials that will be on sale the following week. Readers can sign up for the newsletter list either through our website or Facebook.

6. I have been able to track the success of our social media through Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, Mail Chimp’s reports, and lead generation. I have seen an increase in the number of visits to our website over the past year and I am able to pin point which blog posts draws more people to the website. All the parts of our social media are very much connected. Apart from the internet reports some of the best news for me as Marketing Director is to hear a new customer found out about us on the Internet, which is all information that we keep track of.

All in all, social media has been a success for our B2B marketing mix at Hometown Provisions. I have found that social media provides opportunities to not only inform, but also to engage and build a community of support for our brand and product. One trick that I have used throughout this whole process is to stay focused on Hometown’s marketing goals, who our target audience is and making sure that we stay true to our mission statement. (Before making marketing decisions, I like to look at all three of these statements):

Mission Statement
Our mission is to provide personalized service and quality products that meet or exceed our customers' needs and expectations.

Commitment
We strive to develop lasting, family-like relationships with all of our customers, employees and vendors, and to treat them in a fair, honest and caring way.

Vision Statement
Our Vision is: #1. Be a great wholesale food distributor for our customers and vendors. #2. Be a great place to work. #3. Have the financial strength to accomplish #1 and #2.

Kristy is a graduate of Babson College, where she earned a BA in Business Administration/Marketing. When she is not blogging, tweeting, or studying analytics related to the Hometown Provisions website, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and doing anything active!

Spotlight on Richards Energy Group: a member's member

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Richards Energy Group is an independent 'energineering' firm (and a family business) dedicated to cutting energy costs and one of our valued High Center members.

Founded in 1995 by Frank Richards and headquartered in Landisville, Richards Energy Group has been an approved electric supplier in PA since 1999 and is also licensed by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

Frank and his team kindly offered to answer our questions about Richards Energy Group for the benefit of "High Ground" readers:

What services do you provide to businesses? We help industrial & commercial customers manage electric costs, including competitive power purchasing, lighting retrofits, energy audits, demand response programs for backup generation, utility bill auditing, and cost analysis.

Do you have other family businesses as clients and why have they come to you? Many of our clients are family businesses. We are local, strive to do what's best for each client, have substantial expertise and focus on service and value. So, our values are closely aligned with many other family businesses.

“We consider ourselves to be quite knowledgeable in the retail food business however, when it comes to electricity usage and procurement, it becomes necessary to have a trusted partner like Richards Energy Group assisting us with conserving, buying, and auditing our electricity usage.”
-- Jeffrey Good (Amelia’s Inc., Center member)

Essentially, what is your value proposition? We help clients understand and control energy costs. We invest our talents to provide optimal solutions to reduce both energy consumption and energy expenditures. We only recommend projects when the payback is good.

Now that PPL rate caps are gone, is it a good time to upgrade to high efficiency lighting systems? Absolutely. Efficient lighting upgrades are always a great idea, but now with the higher electric rates, the paybacks are faster. The systems we design usually cut electricity usage in half while improving light quality.

Does PA Act 129 (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act) help even more? Absolutely again! Rebates are available to customers of PA utilities, and in some cases have actually covered the entire cost of materials for our retrofit projects. But the funding for this program, entering its third (and potentially last) year is being quickly consumed…dollars for some utility rate classes are already depleted, so there is some urgency to getting projects into the rebate pipeline right now.

Where does the money come from for Act 129 rebates? Great question…there’s a clue to the answer on every one of our electric bills…a line item that states “Act 129” or “Energy Efficiency”. So the short answer is YOU and me. Since we have to pay for it anyhow, we might as well try to get some benefit from it.

What is the REAP users group? REAP is a unique electric power purchasing consortium established in 1998 to take advantage of the buying clout a large group can exercise over electric suppliers. REAP is an acronym for "Richards Energy Affinity Program." I created REAP, making it a "strong" group...clients give us the authority to sign electric power deals for them, so we can act quickly and effectively when opportunities arise in the volatile energy futures market.

You actually sign the Supplier Contracts? Yes, and we don't take that lightly...we also review those contracts thoroughly, and review the bills when they start coming to be sure clients actually get the deal they were supposed to. It's a unique approach, but it has served our clients well.

Does REAP work? Yes...in fact, in 2003 and 2004, REAP comprised most of the load actually shopping in all of PPL. We now actively manage 1 billion kWh of industrial/commercial accounts, and provide shopping solutions no one else can offer.

A final word? We like our customers and we like "win-win". That might sound worn out, but it rings true for Richards Energy.

Five best family-business tweets

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:38:00 +0000

Gale Martin

by Gale Martin, Marketing Director, S. Dale High Center for Family Business

Every day, world-class publications post links to great articles which I obtain through our High Center Twitter feed. A nifty application created by paper.li organizes selected Tweets into an online broadsheet called The Family-Business Daily.

There's abundant content daily to be exploited by family business executives and managers. In an effort to get some of it--any of it--into the hands of busy family business leaders, I've created a short list of the best articles culled from our Twitter feed this week, in the event you don't have a Twitter feed or are too busy to follow yours.

Here are my five picks over the last week:

Harvard Business Review blog -- "The Only Thing That Really Matters" by Tony Schwartz, an excellent article on the topics of Managing yourself, Organizational culture, and Work life balance. If you've ever had your buttons pushed--almost inexplicably--or you've forgotten why your employees come to work every day, you need to read this article.
Entrepreneur Magazine -- "100 Brilliant Companies" including this feature on how a Chester Springs, Pennsylvania-based wine company called Yellow+Blue Is Making a Difference in the Wine Business. Every next generation family business leader should read at least a dozen of these profiles, to get your entrepreneurial juices flowing.
Inc. Magazine -- "What You Can Learn from an NBA Coach" -- Seven Leadership Lessons from Coach Avery Johnson.
The Exuberant Accountant -- "Is Increasing the Tax Rate for the Rich the Answer to Decreasing the Deficit?" McKonly and Asbury partner Scott Heintzelman's argument against prevailing wisdom that the federal government needs to tax the most wealthy among us.
Harvard Business Review -- "Nine Things Successful People Do Differently," another fabulous post by motivational psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson, an oldie but goodie that keeps being Retweeted.

So, happy reading. Feel free to comment if you read any of these pieces and found them insightful.

Your 'familiness' has brand advantage

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:38:00 +0000

Michael N. McGrann
Executive Director, High Center

by Michael N. McGrann, Executive Director,
S. Dale High Center for Family Business

Following our final breakfast seminar of the 2010-11 series (which included a case study of rebranding by Center member Stauffers of Kissel Hill), one of the attendees asked, "Should we be upfront and out front with customers that we are a family business?"

Without knowing anything about your particular family business brand, I would say yes, that you should be promoting the fact that you are a family business. Why? Because your customers care deeply that you are a family business. Many Fortune 500 companies market the fact that are family business. At the end of each add from Johnson Wax we hear the announcer say: “S.C. Johnson, a family company.” Ford Motor Company, Enterprise Car Rental, and local food manufacturer Dietz and Watson are but a few of the companies who market their “familiness” for good reason: research shows that consumers are more loyal to brands they know to be owned by family businesses.

So if consumers are happier buying from family businesses, why not let them know about your commitment to them and to your business? Let them know that your family stands behind your product and that they are sharing in your family’s heritage and tradition of great products and services. Consumers are hungry for the stability, the honesty, the commitment inherent in purchasing from a family business.

In addition, when you market, or even brand, your “familiness” you are distinguishing your product from your competition in a way that is truly unique. In doing so, you create the potential for a competitive advantage because you have something (your family name… which creates loyalty) that can never be copied.

One of my favorite examples of marketing your “familiness” can be seen in this advertisement for Columbia Sportswear. As you watch the video, ask yourself, what are they really selling?

While it is also true that your familiness can constrain your family business, if you haven't identified your resources and capabilities that sets your family business apart from other businesses, you haven't tapped into a critical resource for competitive advantage.

Mike's bottom line: For a host of reasons, you should not only be up front about being a family business, you should embrace being a family business.

Legal issues impacting family businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:40:00 +0000

John Reed, a longtime volunteer for the High Center and attorney at Corporate Partner at Barley Snyder, LLC, has a new blog at Fig Magazine. Here's John's post, reprinted with permission:

Welcome to my blog on legal issues impacting small businesses. I need a nifty name for the blog and as lawyers are not known for their artistic creativity, I’m up for suggestions.

If you want to read a little about my background, you can check that out at http://www.barley.com/.

My practice is a general business practice split into two areas – counseling family and closely held businesses and mergers and acquisitions. Regarding my counseling family and closely held businesses, I work with very small and very large family and closely held businesses and really act as a virtual in-house attorney for these businesses. Small and family held businesses are really the backbone of the U.S. economy both from an employment perspective and revenue generating perspective. Small and family owned businesses have some of the same problems, risks and challenges that large corporations have and also have some unique challenges arising from their size and ownership structure. One common theme I hear from my clients is that they often feel isolated as they don’t have a large staff to rely on or may not have a strong group of outside advisors to help guide them.

In this blog, my attempt will be to cover topics on which I have received questions from clients or issues with which I have seen small and family owned businesses struggle. Some of these subjects will include:

Should I use some type of entity to run my business or am I safe operating it as a sole proprietorship?
What types of business entitites are available and what are the differences (limited liability company, S corporation, C corporation, general partnership.etc.)
How to build relationships with a group of outside advisors
Should I have a board of directors or board of advisors?
Employee issues, such as, non-competes and non-solicitation issues, concepts to retain good employees, etc.

I’m also certainly open to answering questions from you, so please let me know if you have them.

Finally, I am a novice at this blogging concept, and, as I said, lawyers are not known for their creativity (or ability to write in plain English). So, please bear with me and let me know of any suggestions you have to make this a more effective (and fun) blog.

Disclaimer
This Blog Site is made available by the lawyer or law firm publisher for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice. By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Blog/Web Site publisher. The Blog/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional attorney in your state.

Some good economic news because of family businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:41:00 +0000

American family businesses expect to hire in 2011 says the Family Business Institute. Read all about the importance of family businesses to the US economy at this post. See the related article on PR Newswire here.

Stauffers of Kissel Hill rebranding a triumph (and for good reason)

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Mon, 09 May 2011 19:00:00 +0000

by Gale Martin, Director of Marketing and Development, S. Dale High Center for Family Business at Elizabethtown College

Last week, one of our Center members, Stauffers of Kissel Hill, detailed their rebranding process at a Breakfast Seminar, an event at the heart of our programming for members, and the last of the 2010-11 series.

Just prior to Stauffers sharing their case, brand expert Kae G. Wagner, president of North Star Marketing, shared the following slide, the Adizes Organizational Lifecycle:

During the case study presented by Stauffers' principals, COO Jere Stauffer and Marketing and Branding Director Debi Drescher, marked their own status on the Lifecycle graph Kae presented as somewhere between "recrimination" and "entrenched bureaucracy."

Stauffers of Kissel Hill's humble origins
as a roadside stand

Following a site visit and no-holds-barred critique from a peer group within the garden center industry, the Stauffers' ownership team knew they needed to change and that they needed to put a plan in place to accommodate wholesale change.

For a family owned and operated business to admit that strategic improvements were necessary to remain competitive is a feat in itself. One reason family businesses succeed against daunting odds is the deep pride owners take in the business. Such extreme pride can make it hard for family business leaders to hear any criticism--period.

Their customer- and quality-focus were hampered
by an outdated look. (Before rebranding)

Eight years ago, Stauffers launched a branding campaign that succeeded, owing to strong personal values that informed their corporate values, a desire to put the health of the business ahead of personal agendas, and sheer pluck and determination.

Listening to and processing feedback

Jere Stauffer mentioned that industry peers gave the ownership team pages and pages of criticisms to chew on. Both the ownership group and the executive management team put their own fears of being criticized aside, which allowed them to really hear the recommendations made, take them into account, see patterns in the various critiques, and emerge with a prioritized list. That's no easy task, listening to critical feedback about the business that you parents or grandparents founded, a business in which most of these folks grew up.

Working toward consensus and a common goal

While everyone charged with rebranding Stauffers of Kissel Hill had their own ideas and opinions about what the new brand should look and feel like, eventually consensus had to be reached to allow the company to move forward. For some, that meant their favorite design or brand tenet wasn't selected. With so many stakeholders involved and no single stakeholder possessing the equivalent of the line-item veto, it is worth repeating that gaining consensus was no easy task. More than one family business has been thwarted at this stage because individual egos loomed larger than the overarching desire to see the family business succeed. Ultimately, Stauffers' stakeholders kept the bigger picture in focus, subordinating personal agendas.

Perseverance

A display from the newly rebranded garden center

Across eight locations in Central Pennsylvania, reaching hundreds of employees at every operational level, spanning five years and counting, including the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, Stauffers of Kissel Hill demonstrated the perseverance necessary to successfully roll out a new brand.

"Everybody was on board," Mike McGrann, executive director of the High Center said. "This allowed them to be truly systematic in their roll out, across all aspects of their business. Every manager and every employee was made part of their rebranding."

The new Stauffers of Kissel Hill Rohrerstown store!

In rebranding themselves, Stauffers of Kissel Hill engaged in an awe-inspiring process that other family businesses can learn from and realized jaw-dropping results.

Congratulations, Stauffers of Kissel Hill, and best wishes for continued success!

For more information about Kae G. Wagner's brand presentation, see this post by Scott Heintzelman, the Exuberant Accountant.

Best fam biz links of the week: A roundup!

noreply@blogger.com (Center for Family Business) — Wed, 04 May 2011 17:50:00 +0000

Each day, the High Center for Family Business avails itself of trendy technology by publishing an online broadsheet called The Family-Business Daily. This publication is an attractively aggregated collection of links to content pulled from selected organizations we follow on Twitter such as Inc. Magazine, Fortune Magazine, New York Times Small Business, Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur, and others.

Since I preview the broadsheet daily, as a new weekly feature on "High Ground," I'll be culling the best links for family business owners/leaders/managers as a round-up here. Articles definitely worth your time include the following:

3 Ways to Encourage Meeting Participation from Harvard Business Review
Don't Ignore the Easiest Place to Find Customers from Entrepreneur Magazine
Five Ways to Channel Your Inner Millionaire from Entrepreneur Magazine
Ten Things I Learned From Failure from Inc. Magazine
When a Hope is Not a Promise from the Transition Consulting Group

Happy and worthwhile reading, everyone!