CSUF Family Business
Council Celebrates a Decade of Service
Established in partnership between the
business community and the university, the campus center celebrates
its 10th anniversary and its achievements in enhancing the well-being
and survivability of family businesses.
September 15, 2005
By Pamela McLaren
Mike Trueblood briefly relaxes in his
small office and talks with excitement about the
Family
Business Council and its achievements. The campus center,
established as a partnership between the business community
and the university, is celebrating its 10th anniversary and
the achievements it has made in enhancing the well-being and
survivability of Southern California family businesses.
Mike
Trueblood dashes back and forth, taking calls from business
owners and other directors of family business centers, checking
on mailing lists for upcoming workshops and trying to manage
the many emails that he receives daily. Last spring he spoke
to students at the University of Manila in the Philippines
and last month, hosted a faculty member from the Philippines,
who came to Cal State Fullerton to discuss establishing student/faculty
exchanges.
Around his busy schedule, Trueblood reminisces
about the council’s beginnings and its impact on the
region’s business community.
Ten years ago, Judy Harman in the College
of Business and Economics and Rachael Owens, then of MassMutual
Insurance, got together to discuss research that revealed
that nationally 80 to 90 percent of all businesses begin as
family owned, but only a third are passed on to the next generation.
It was time, the two women thought, to put together a center
that could help family businesses succeed and thrive.
That discussion led to further talks with Ephraim
Smith, then dean of the business school, and finally to formal
university approval, says Trueblood. To begin, the two women
knew they not only had to recruit family-owned businesses
in the area, but needed sponsors who would support the concept
of the council and what it was attempting to do. Thinking
of the needs of business, they approached MassMutual; the
law firm of Stradling, Yocca, Carlson and Rauth; accounting
firm Arthur Andersen & Co.; Eldorado Bank; and advertising
firm Hunter Barth Inc.
“Judy, her husband, Dave, and Rachael
were the real driving force behind the council and remain
among its staunchest supporters,” notes Trueblood. “Without
their vision, it’s tough to think where the council
would be. Then too, we’re so pleased that the university
and college remain committed to supporting our efforts.”
With sponsors established and a small but growing
list of family-owned businesses, the council began offering
small breakfast meetings where guest speakers addressed issues
related to family business: succession, communication, sibling
rivalry, strategic and family mission.
“The rest, as they say, is history,”
says Trueblood, with a smile. Six years ago, just after Trueblood
came on board, the Family Business Council joined with the
Orange County Business Journal to establish an annual family
business awards program. The annual event, now held every
November, continues to showcase the success of large and small,
new and long-established family businesses. This year’s
keynoter will be John Shea of Shea Homes, a former family-business
award winner.
Two years ago, the Family Business Council
instituted a Hispanic Family-Owned Business Conference as
another outreach effort. Bank of America sponsors the annual
March event.
In addition to monthly workshops, the fall
awards luncheon and the March conference, the Family Business
Council also supports four affinity groups. These groups,
for heads of business, the next generation and women business
owners, meet monthly to discuss topics of interest to their
specific needs and interest.
Never forgetting that the council is headquartered
on a university campus, five years ago the College of Business
started offering an undergraduate management course to help
educate future family-business owners. The next step, Trueblood
says, is to add an executive education course and a graduate-level
course specifically designed for the second-generation business
leaders. “Educating the second generation has become
very important, and such programs are becoming a national
trend.”
Family business, he notes, continues to be
a big part of not only the U.S. economy, but also worldwide.
“The Philippines [visit] was so rewarding,” says
Trueblood. “Family businesses are a bigger part of their
economy than ours. This is also true in China, Turkey and
South America.”
Next spring, Trueblood will pack his bags and
travel to Turkey where he will give a talk at Istanbul’s
Kültür University — a family business.
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