Are you—or were you—associated with a family-owned business? About 90 percent of people are, whether they realize it or not. That’s because 85 to 92 percent of all U.S. businesses are family owned. With approximately 28 million small businesses in the United States, the odds are good you have ties to a family business.

Family businesses aren’t all small “Mom and Pop” shops, they include larger companies, too. JE Dunn Construction Group here in Kansas City, for example, is the 12th largest general building company in the United States and a family-owned business.

To provide support and networking for those involved in family businesses of all sizes, we have developed the Family Owned Business Network (FOBN) on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, where members can connect with other family-business owners and employees, professional service providers to family businesses, researchers and academic experts who specialize in the topic. The group now has 770 members on LinkedIn representing more than 30 countries. Our goal for the FOBN network is one million members, about 2.5 percent of the estimated worldwide field of 40 million business owners and professional service providers with ties to family business.

The FOBN provides a forum for discussing common concerns, exchanging ideas, solving problems, sharing recommendations and gathering research insights. The FOBN will provide network management services, such as affiliated memberships, book reviews, communication, philanthropy, lobbying support, college-level curriculum, business opportunities and research on business subjects. It also will provide an archive of pre-screened material and “Pro-Talk,” an array of resource panels that will provide expertise to members.

As the network grows, it will serve as a support organization for small in-person Family Business Circles led by area directors around the world. These “Family Business Circle” meetings are in beta testing here in Kansas City. Initial gatherings were held in collaboration with the Helzberg Mentoring Program, Johnson County Community College and the Leawood Chamber of Commerce.

“Family business issues often can be resolved or alleviated with expertise and counsel beyond the family,” said Leawood Mayor Peggy Dunn, who has a personal view of family-owned businesses through her husband, JE Dunn President and CEO Terry Dunn. “I can see where this new network may provide a good venue for assistance.”

Family Ties Can Bind or Break Your Business
Family dynamics—often emotional, irrational and unchecked—can dramatically affect the success of family businesses and the people who work for them. But relationship issues often remain a challenge lurking behind the family’s doors: unexamined, unmanaged and unresolved.

Consider the business owner who is advised to get the greatest tax benefit possible by gifting his business equally to his two children. After Dad retires or dies, the kids disagree, bicker and quickly run the business into the ground. And how about the founder who tries to turn the business over to a child who lacks experience or maturity? The result is dysfunctional management relationships caused by family ties at the top that transcend normal standards of role definition and competency requirements.

In spite of these common challenges, most family business owners or next generation family members don’t have any formal experienced support or continuing education on the unique issues they face. Until now, they also lacked a forum for sharing questions, best practices and solutions. The Family Owned Business Network provides that forum, along with this new column for Thinking Bigger Business Media.

My Experience with Family Businesses
I grew up around my Dad’s small business in Cleveland, Ohio, and the small businesses of various relatives across the country, so family business has always been a focus for me. In my early days as a Cleveland-area attorney and later as CEO of a family-owned business in Kansas City, I met and counseled many family businesses. As a management and marketing consultant for banks, professional service providers and not-for-profit organizations, and in co-founding the PrivateBank in Kansas City in 2006, I continued my relationship with family-owned businesses. For 20 years, I have taught in the graduate business programs at Webster University, and I have written and lectured extensively on the subject of family-owned business. I recently turned this passion for helping family business succeed into the FOBN and a new edition of my book, “123 Secrets for Success in Your Family Business,” which is planned for publication in early 2012.

Key to Success is Focus on Relationships
As I’ve authored books and consulted with thousands of family businesses, I’ve found that most professional service providers focus primarily on tax and financial issues, rather than dealing with the relationship issues. Family relationships are at the heart of the matter. If you don’t have them right, you won’t be as successful as you could be. But I’ve seen very little expert advice on this subject.

There are two reasons for this gap in services for family-owned businesses. The first is the difficulty marketers have in distinguishing family-owned businesses from others. Many businesses don’t communicate that they are a family-owned business in their public materials. The second is the privacy perspective. Family business owners are understandably protective about sharing the personal matters that naturally intertwine with the business.

Through this column and through the networking and interaction as a member of the Family Owned Business Network, I hope you will gain valuable insights into the relationship-driven dynamics of family-owned businesses, to help your business grow and succeed at every phase of its lifecycle.

To join The Family Owned Business Network, visit the LinkedIn Groups Directory and enter The Family Owned Business Network.

Author’s note: Thank you to Julie Bartels Smith of JBS Communications for her help in researching and developing this column.