The Family Business Voice

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Mark Lamoncha from Humtown Manufacturing talks to Ramia about the economic crisis as a catalyst for change, engaging team members in the digital age and how people-oriented managerial practices transformed his family business. – Mark applied a performance-based earning matrix to Humtown’s operations with a revolutionary digitised system – one that show...

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Dennis Ingui from Aurorae talks with Ramia about running a successful yoga business, the compatibility of yoga and entrepreneurship and what it means to innovate the mat. – Dennis read reviews on Amazon and eBay to see what wasn’t working in the yoga industry and then innovated a product to meet consumer requirements based on these reviews. – Now, 18 y...

On this episode of the Family Business Voice, Dr Alexander Koeberle-Schmid speaks to Ramia about the complexities of communal investing. According to Koeberle-Schmid, prospective family offices should ask themselves the following: – Is Everyone Committed? – What Kind of Family Office Works Best? – Is the Investment Threshold Adequate? – Is there a Succession Plan in Place? – Could External Help Ma...

On this episode of the Family Business Voice, Jack Mitchell talks to Ramia about Mitchell Stores’ people-centric philosophy – hugging. – Mitchell Stores thrives on its ability to engage its people, both customers and employees. – Jack Mitchell calls his people-first philosophy hugging. – People-centrism coupled with Mitchell Stores’ impeccable governance has carried the family business through ret...

On this episode of the Family Business Voice, Albert Bosch talks to Ramia about the place where adventure and entrepreneurship meet, as well as our responsibility as leaders to see personal needs and the needs of the planet as one. – Effective leaders are able to align their goals with their purpose. – Failure is an important step on the road to success. We should not hide our failures but learn f...

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Dean R Fowler talks to Ramia about seeing past the emotional barriers of unhealthy sibling rivalry by prioritising transparency and communication. – Siblings desire the attention, blessing and love of their parents. Rivalry exists if one feels that the other receives more attention, love and care than they do. In this way, sibling rivalry is tied to se...

On this episode of the Family Business Voice, Jørgen Jørgensen talks with Ramia about the outdoor industry’s technological drivers, Norrøna’s award-winning retail strategy and the company’s responsibility to the environment. – When it comes to outdoor sports, it’s the tools or hard goods that drive the industry. Norrøna designs products for these niches as soon as the tools make them possible, the...

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Felicia Heng, Executive Director of FBN Asia talks to Ramia about the importance of preparing Now Gen leaders for family business success. – There is a direct correlation between the health of family relationships and the health of the family business. – Now Gens are defined by a life stage where responsibilities and accountabilities are more material...

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Martin Willig from Henri Willig Cheese talks to Ramia about the significance of narrative, culture and craftsmanship in preparing world-class cheese. – Some companies have the story but do not offer a satisfactory product, while others make a decent product but lack the story. Having both is critical. – Attention to detail is another factor that sets H...

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Greg McCann talks to Ramia about creating awareness, cultivating a safe space for difficult conversations and preparing next-gens for family business leadership. – Working in a family business is potentially more rewarding, but leadership roles are never simpler. – Awareness is critical, and one great way to cultivate awareness is by creating a culture...

On this episode of the Family Business Voice, Adam Brånby, CEO of his family group, Ekstigen AB, sat down with Ramia to discuss quality production, personalisation and the enduring draw of the axe. – Craftsmanship is the common thread that ties all four of the family group’s companies together. – Product quality is both a point of pride and the main selling point. Gränsfors Bruk axes and Woolpower...

We sat down with Azza Fahmy, Fatma Ghali and Amina Ghali to discuss family business dynamics, the erosion of artisanal skills and how relating craftsmanship to millennials may hinge on environmental sustainability. – Craftsmanship is in crisis – not just in Egypt but around the world. – Mass-produced goods threaten artisanal makers, but there is a growing movement that again sees the significance...

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Chris Mittelstaedt, founder and CEO of The FruitGuys, sat down with Ramia to discuss origin, both sides of cyclical economics and the future of his family business. – The business, which grew out of the dot-com bubble, was faced with immense challenges when the bubble burst. – Mittelstaedt’s defensive strategy through hard economic times paid off, and...

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Kelly Spiker, second-generation coffee entrepreneur and COO of Woods Coffee, talks to Ramia about generating growth in a hyper-competitive marketplace while working to improve the lives of others in the community. – Competition isn’t necessarily something to be afraid of; growing a coffee business at the same time as Starbucks’ rapid expansion worked i...

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Melinda Rossiter, Business Development Manager and fourth-generation family business member, talks to Ramia about Rossi Boots’ transformation and newfound flexibility after 110 years in boot making. – In the past, Rossi Boots relied solely on its products – marketing wasn’t a priority. By the time the fourth generation joined, the family business neede...

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Dr Gah-Yi Ban, Assistant Professor of Management Science and Operation, London Business School talks to Ramia about leveraging Big Data in business by using machine learning and AI. – Many organisations, financial institutions included, collect vast amounts of data but don’t know how to use it – Using these systems to inform significant decisions, proc...

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Amy Thompson from Monkey Business Catering dicusses her family’s non-linear journey to entrepreneurial success. – The Thompsons started Monkey Business Catering because they found the franchise model they were working under before too restrictive. – Flexibility is key; their size and close association mean they’re ready to capitalise on opportunities a...

On this episode of The Family Business Voice, Mark Wagner talks to Ramia about how family businesses can use customer service to compete with retail giants. Mark Wagner, 6th generation family business member, joined Wagner Quality Shoes right after graduating from college because he knew his satisfaction depended on it. Wagner Quality Shoes relies on its strength, superlative customer service, to...

Dr Chengwei Liu is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Behavioural Science at England’s Warwick Business School. An expert in executive decision-making, Dr Liu’s papers are featured in leading academic journals around the world.   His work on nepotism explores the complexity of its expression in practical situations. The behaviour is difficult to define outside of the classroom and is neither c...

The daughters of Indian immigrants to England, Julia and Nadia Latif spent their childhood in the East Anglian countryside. Their entrepreneurial venture exhibits the work ethic that defined their parents and grandparents’ struggle to raise a family in a new country. The Latif sisters had always dreamt of starting a business together. Before   Our House of Spice , they both felt trapped in careers...

Randel Carlock   takes a singularly pragmatic approach to the subject of family business management. His latest book,   A Family Business on the Moon , written with Keng-Fun Loh, is not a textbook or self-help volume. Instead of describing family business dynamics through dense theoretical terminology or the lens of case studies, their book gives readers access to a lifetime of aggregated wisdom f...

As the CEO of   DLC Management Corp   – an entrepreneurial real estate firm he co-founded with his father, the late Steve Ifshin, in 1991 – Adam oversees a portfolio that contains over 20 million square feet of retail space concentrated in the Eastern United States. Under his stewardship, DLC has become one of the leading private owner-operators of open-air shopping centres in America. Initially,...

Leveraging family ownership is a unique opportunity presented to family businesses when formulating their branding strategy. Whether by adding the typical ‘and Sons’ to their names or including the message in product branding, there is a myriad of ways to  emphasise  a family legacy is operating behind the scenes of a business. Historically, business families have been known to underline their own...

After learning the art of tree care as a college student in the early 20 th   century, a young WP Lanphear travelled around the northeastern United States working on such prestigious projects as the Vanderbilt and Roosevelt estates. Moved to start his own business, he founded the Forest City Tree Protection Co. in 1910. A long-standing position as the City Forester for the city of Cleveland Height...

More than half of all businesses globally are family-owned or operated. They are cornerstones of prosperity; their contributions to job creation and global GDP are crucial. Their stories, a source of inspiration for entrepreneurs everywhere, deserve to be told. The Family Business Voice is a podcast for family business owners, experts and entrepreneurs to share their successes and challenges with...