Family Business Center

Learn best practices from experts and other business families while networking over a breakfast on the beautiful St. Paul campus. 

Upcoming Breakfasts:

The 2019-20 season is under development. Here are some of the topic we'll cover:

• Managing Difficult Conversations
• Utilizing Non-employed Family Members
• Exploring New Business Opportunities
• Buying, Selling or Raising Growth Capital
• An Outsider’s View of What Makes a Family Business Strong
• Entitlement Prevention & What’s Fair vs. Equal

Regular registration for one breakfast is $200 per family, or you can register for the whole season (seven breakfasts) for $1,250. Attend your first breakfast at no cost, to see if it meets the needs of your family.

Past 2018-19 Topics:

• Educating the Next Generation
• Creating Family Unity
• Fostering Entrepreneurship in the Next Generation
• Family Roles in Retirement
• Harnessing the Competitive Advantages of the Family Business
• Motivational & Compensation Strategies
• Succession through the Eyes of the Next Generation

Thanks to the 500+ individuals from 150+ families who attended on of the breakfast events this past year!

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.

 

Family Business Governance - Fall 2019
When family, business and ownership are understood and aligned, family businesses can thrive. This three-day course is for the family that wants to get on the same page, learn how be effective owners, and create its own system to secure the long-term future of the family and business. There isn't a more impactful class we offer.

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. Sessions are facilitated by an adviser who has experience working with business families. 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.

St. Thomas students can take courses in 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.

The Adviser Engagement Luncheon allows family business advisers 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. Adviser firms can purchase a table of eight, to bring clients, colleagues and partners, or purchase individual seats to learn with their peers. This group meets three times per year.

Upcoming Luncheons:

Preparing the Next Generation to Lead
May 2, 2019

The Critical Role of Highly Skilled Advisers
November 7, 2019

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