Featured

October 20, 2026

When a Family Member’s Personal Life Affects Your Business

October 20, 2026

When a family member’s personal life starts affecting your business, covering for them is the right call. The problem is there’s no timeframe around it. No structure. No plan both of you agreed to. Here’s how to fix that.

October 20, 2026

October 19, 2026

When You Have to Demote a Family Member in Your Business

October 19, 2026

When you have to demote a family member, the title isn’t the problem — the silence around it is. Every week the role stays mismatched, the business pays for it and every non-family employee in the building adjusts their expectations down. The demotion isn’t the conversation that breaks things. It’s the one that stops the damage from compounding.

October 19, 2026

September 29, 2026

When a Family Member Is Mistreating Your Employees

September 29, 2026

When a family member mistreats employees and ownership says nothing, the business doesn't stay the same — it reorganizes around the absence. Here's what that silence is actually costing you.

September 29, 2026

Jillian Smith M.A. 1/19/26 Jillian Smith M.A. 1/19/26

Family Business Roles and Responsibilities: Why Nothing Gets Done.

Everyone is involved in the business, but no one is clearly responsible for anything. When family business roles and responsibilities aren’t clearly defined, decisions slow down, accountability disappears, and the business starts running on reaction instead of structure.

Jillian Smith M.A. 1/19/26 Jillian Smith M.A. 1/19/26

Why Your Parent Still Runs the Business They Gave You.

You have the title. They still have the authority. Taking over a family business from a parent doesn't automatically transfer control — and until the real problem gets named, nothing on the operational side will fix it.

Jillian Smith M.A. 1/19/26 Jillian Smith M.A. 1/19/26

Family Business Decision Making: Why Nothing Actually Moves

Are you running a business or a family meeting? Because right now you might be running both — which means you're running neither. Here's why family business decision-making stalls and what it actually takes to fix it.

Jillian Smith M.A. 11/5/25 Jillian Smith M.A. 11/5/25

Burnout in a Family Business: Signs You're Carrying Too Much

You're exhausted. Your calendar has no room in it for you. And you keep telling yourself it will slow down. It won't. Here's what family business burnout actually looks like — and why it doesn't fix itself.

Jillian Smith M.A. 11/5/25 Jillian Smith M.A. 11/5/25

Is a Business Coach Worth It for a Family-Run Business?

You run your family at home. You run your business at the business. Except nobody told your family that. Here's what actually changes when a business coach steps in — and why nobody who's tried it has walked away.

Jillian Smith M.A. 10/16/25 Jillian Smith M.A. 10/16/25

Why Your Best Employees Keep Leaving Your Family Business

Your best non-family employee isn't leaving because of pay. They're leaving because they've been absorbing your family's drama for months. Here's what that costs and what actually fixes it.

Jillian Smith M.A. 10/15/25 Jillian Smith M.A. 10/15/25

When You Can't Fire the Family Member Who's Hurting Your Business

Firing a family member in a family business is the hardest call in ownership. Here's why it keeps getting delayed — and what the business loses every month it does.

Jillian Smith M.A. 10/15/25 Jillian Smith M.A. 10/15/25

How to Fire a Family Member in a Family Business

Firing a family member in a family business is one of the hardest decisions an owner will ever make. Here's what the exit actually looks like — and how to do it without destroying the family in the process.

Jillian Smith M.A. 10/13/25 Jillian Smith M.A. 10/13/25

Difficult Conversations in a Family Business: Why They Don't Happen

Hard conversations don't happen in family businesses because everyone is protecting the relationship. Meanwhile the business pays for it. Here's what it costs.