NOFB Blog

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Family Business Center at Alvernia University Joins The Network of Family Businesses     The Family Business Center is designed to strengthen family firms and help them address their most critical problems. The goal of the Center is to provide family business owners and key personnel with timely and valuable information to strengthen their businesses. The activities of the Center include educational seminars featuring nationally recognized speakers and advisors and drawing on the professional expertise of our sponsors and partners. Family-owned businesses are fundamentally important to the U.S. and regional economy and comprise the backbone of our economy. […]

The old cliché is true: employees are an organization’s most valuable asset.  Cultivating an organization that effectively manages its people is important to any organization—including family businesses. The value of good human resources management is critical for organizational success. Understanding key employment law issues that all organizations need to be aware of, as well as some hot topics in employment law is a must for every family business. Managing your human resources continues to be a daunting challenge as we continue to observe a transition from transactional to strategic.  However, depending on the industry, staffing size and budget, the degree of […]

For some families that is a dreaded phrase and for other families that brings warm memories of family gatherings.  At a time of year when activities tend to outpace the number of hours in a day and the days keep running together, it is important to keep in mind that it is our families that make the season. In this time of busy-ness, remember to take time for family. May this season be one of peace, joy, and happiness as you intentionally seek family time. From my family to yours, Enjoy the blessings God has bestowed and may your family experience […]

      Mark Your Calendars   The Upcoming Schedule    Tuesday, January 21, 2014 @ 11:00 AM ET  Human Resources Primer for Family Businesses          –  with Aaron Moyer and Terry Broach                   Consultants with SKM Associates – Family Business Advisors   Tuesday, February 25, 2014 @ 11:00 AM ET  Successfully Transitioning Out of The Family Business          – with Paul Cronin, Partner                     Successful Transition Planning Institute (STPI) in Cambridge, MA   Wednesday, March 26, 2014 @ 11:00 AM ET  What A Family Office Is And Is Not          – with Peter Roland and […]

THE NETWORK OF FAMILY BUSINESSES ************************************************************************ The Initiative For Family Business & Entrepreneurship St. Joseph’s University Joins The Network of Family Businesses The Network of Family Businesses is pleased to announce that the Initiative For Family Business & Entrepreneurship of St. Joseph’s University has joined The Network.   Mike McGrann, Executive Director of the Initiative for Family Business and Entrepreneurship stated their goal is to provide family business owners, entrepreneurs and the University students the tools necessary to increase long-term competitiveness, ownership prosperity and family unity for generations to come. This will be accomplished through a combination of world-class education, unique […]

Philip A. Clemens, Chairman and CEO of the Clemens Family Corporation As the Clemens Family Corporation moves into the seventh generation of ownership, the family has a goal of continuing to build the family legacy that started in 1895 by John C. Clemens. Phil Clemens stated the key to their owners’ satisfaction is the functioning and nurturing of what they call their “Trust Triangle.” This ‘Trust Triangle’ is comprised of the Owner’s Advisory Council, the Independent Board of Directors, and the Management team operating their businesses. Clemens stated the unique relationship of these three groups is built on Core Values the […]

  SKM ASSOCIATES LLC ************************************************************************ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 14, 2013   Aaron Moyer Joins SKM Associates, LLC               SKM Associates, LLC is pleased to announce that Aaron Moyer has joined its team.    Prior to joining SKM Associates, Aaron practiced employment law at Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  In his practice, Aaron counseled employers on a variety of employment matters – such as issues with individual employees, policies and practices, handbooks, severance agreements, employment agreements, wage and hour issues – and defended employers in litigation brought by former and current employees under various federal, state, and […]

    Generations Working Together in the Family Enterprise   If you got the reference in the title to the famous song by The Who, you were likely a Baby Boomer in your teens or early twenties when the album (and The Who) made its debut. Possibly you are a Gen X-er exposed to the album a decade or so later. Maybe even a Gen Y/Millenial riding the recent wave of retro rock popularity.   For the first time in the history of humans, it is quite common for 4 generations of family members to be alive at the same time. […]

“Rough waters are truer tests of leadership. In calm water every ship has a good captain.   Resources for the Family Owned Business ———————–  

  How does entitlement present itself? What are its causes and consequences?   How do we cure it?   Webster’s describes entitlement as “the belief that one is deserving of certain privileges.” Family Business Wiki says, “Entitlement refers to a sense of being ‘owed’ such benefits as: wealth; employment; and status without having to work to achieve these benefits. Some children who grow up in a successful family business can be inclined to a feeling of entitlement.” Entitlement is more than feeling “owed” or “deserving,” it’s about expectation as well. Indeed, usually the problem isn’t the feeling of entitlement; it is […]