From the Editor: Family-owned businesses are at the heart of Maine economy
Nationwide, as noted in the focus intro on Page 15, family businesses turn out about two-thirds of the U.S. gross domestic product, 64%, and employ 60% of the U.S. workforce.
It’s often said that small businesses make up most of Maine’s companies. The overlap with family-owned businesses is often overlooked.
In this focus on family-owned businesses, we explore some different issues and challenges faced by families and, increasingly, their non-family CEOs.
To that point, non-relatives now run some of Maine’s most prominent firms. Companies like L.L.Bean, Hussey Seating Co., Jasper Wyman and Geiger depend on CEOs brought in to run the family business. As Renee Cordes reports, communication and a firm set of boundaries are often key to the success of those relationships. See our cover story, “Stewards of family business,” which starts on Page 16.
Shopping malls often look to national retailers to take long-term leases and pay top dollar for store space. But, as Maureen Milliken reports, Topsham Fair Mall has its own strategy that depends on a mix of family-owned businesses and Maine-based retailers. See “Topsham Fair Mall: A functional family,” which starts on Page 20.
Younger leaders in multi-generational businesses often find themselves walking a fine line between strategizing for the future and protecting the legacy of the past. As Laurie Schreiber reports, the basics of training, communication and even working with a mediator apply to family businesses as well as they do the general business community. For more, see “Heirloom or asset?” on Page 26.
For a list of Maine’s largest family-owned businesses, see Page 34.
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