Family Business Center

The Family Business Breakfast Series is our most popular event, with more than 150 family businesses engaging each year. It is a safe place for families to tackle unique issues, engage with other families, and find their path forward. The 2022-23 Family Business Breakfast Season has moved to Thursday mornings, still from 7:30-9:30 a.m. on the St. Paul campus. December and January are virtual-only events.

2022-23 Season:

• September 22: Fair vs. Equal
• October 27: Meaningful Work Across Generations​
• December 1: Returning to Your Family’s Entrepreneurial Roots​*
• January 19: National Keynote with the Wisconsin Family Business Center​*
• February 23: Always Prepared: Expected & Unexpected Sale of the Business​
• April 6: Understanding Self & Others​
• May 11: Employee Engagement Done Right

Season Memberships cost $1,250, which grant access for all family members to all Breakfast Series events. You can register your family here.

For families that are not members, the cost is $200 per family, per event. First-time families are invited to join us at no cost.

New this year, thanks to the generosity of a donor, the center can now provide financial assistance to smaller family businesses who may not be able to afford the full cost of a season membership. There's a short application to fill out.

Questions? Contact center director Jon Keimig, jon.keimig@stthomas.edu.

In these full-day seminars led by family business experts, gain practical tools to improve decision-making in your business. Learn alongside other business families. Topics include governance, succession planning, financial basics and entrepreneurship. To learn about upcoming seminars and inquire about cost, please contact us at jon.keimig@stthomas.edu.

Family Business Financial Basics - March 30. 2022
Family businesses all get financial statements, but do all family members "get" financial statements? If you or someone in your family business doesn't understand the financials of your company or how to read the spreadsheets your accountant sends you, the one-day Ownership Academy: Financial Basics course can help.

Join a roundtable with peers who share similar family business roles. Participate in confidential discussions about critical family and business issues, and help each other to navigate and overcome challenges. The center offers four groups (CEO/owner, next generation, women in family business and non-family executives) that meet up to 10 times a year, up to three hours each time. The annual cost is $950 per person. To ensure that you and your preferred roundtable will be a good fit, you must submit an application. For details, please contact us at jon.keimig@stthomas.edu.

The Advisor Engagement Luncheon allows family business advisors like bankers, accountants, financial planners, attorneys, psychologists and coaches to learn together about topics that will help them better serve their family business clients and build their professional networks. Advisors can attend individually at $50 each or firms can sponsor a table of eight for the season, to bring and engage with clients, colleagues and partners, at a cost of $3,000 for the year.

Upcoming Luncheons:

• November 3 - Tony Simmons, 5th generation former CEO of McIlhenny Company (Tabasco), a family business keynote
• February 9 - Replacing "The Legend," a family business panel discussion
• April 20 - Expert-led Case Study

Interested in joining our group of sponsor tables? Email center director Jon Keimig at jon.keimig@stthomas.edu.

St. Thomas students can take courses in the family business. Through practical and experiential learning, as well as engagement with a family business, students will learn to be an effective part of their family business or have the tools to help guide someone else's. Learn what makes family businesses unique and harness the dynamics, values and history to create a competitive advantage.

Whether your family is experiencing hardship in personal relationships, succession planning or has a general need for financial planning, an advisor can add value to your business family. Learn what to look for in an adviser and see a list of family business advisors.