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As a little girl, I eagerly looked forward to working at our family business, AC Plumbing & Heating, riding around in the Big Blue truck, and getting my hands dirty. But my father was tired of the rigors of entrepreneurship long before I was able to join him. Instead, I explored business owner dreams as a reporter first with the Youngstown Business Journal and later with the American City Business Journals in markets around the country. There I chose to make one of my beats the intricacies of a family-owned business.
Family Enterprise USA reports that there are 5.5. million U.S. family businesses and they are the heartbeat driving many local economies. These businesses of varying sizes contribute 57% of the GDP, employ 63% of the workforce, and are responsible for 78% of all new job creation. That means family-owned businesses employ more than 98 million people! That is a serious impact. Check out their 2023 Family Business Survey Final Report.
As my father found, there are some unique challenges that come with these businesses including clear delegation of duties, defined roles and responsibilities, emotional family + friend relationships, the struggle to separate family and work, and succession planning. As if these challenges aren’t enough to navigate, there are certainly generational differences of opinion on how to integrate outsiders into the business.
MARQUEE understands what it takes to run a small business. We want to take the stress and the multiple hours that it takes to market the business off the entrepreneur's already full plate. MARQUEE is there as a partner to assist in revising your website, managing your social media content and Google ads budget, selecting your local event sponsorship, or creating promotional giveaways. We make sure that your choices are the best expenditure of your marketing budget providing proven results instead of “I told you so’s”.
Over time, MARQUEE has navigated the delicate marketing and event challenges of several local family-owned businesses - names synonymous with the Mahoning Valley - Redlich, Burgan, and Kravitz now Rydarowicz to name a few. We are proud to help these business owners' efficiency so they can have time for the important things - like enjoying their families.
— Aundréa Cika Heschmeyer, President
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