Jabs School of Business to launch the Family Business Center
Riverside, Calif. (Nov. 28, 2022) – The Dr. Robert K. Jabs School of Business will launch the Family
Business Center on Dec. 1.
The center will provide seminars and networking opportunities to family-owned businesses in the Southern California region. Additionally, experts with family business experience — in banking, legal, estate planning and other areas — will be available as a resource.
“Every business is unique and special, and every family is unique and special. Now you put the two things together and you have an amazingly unique organization,” said Dr. Keanon Alderson, professor of business and director of the Family Business Center. “Commonly their issues are succession and long-term planning, communication, decision making and conflict. We have the resources, the tools and the knowledge to help these family firms succeed to the next generation.”
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget lists metropolitan statistical areas in the country. In the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area, 45% of employers are family owned, making it No. 1 in that category, according to the U.S. Census Annual Survey of Entrepreneurship (2016).
Family businesses should consider joining the center if they are “complex,” Alderson said. Such as being large, older, multiple generations and multiple family members involved, experiencing conflict, or, more importantly, facing an upcoming transition or succession.
“Some people think family firms are the same as any other kind of firm, but they're not. They do have the same challenges, but the family dynamic is what separates them,” Alderson said. “Plus, many of them intend to pass it on to the future generations, and that separates them from nonfamily firms.”
Alderson brings first-hand experience to his role. He worked 17 years in the family business, Sonergy Nutritional Products, which was started by his parents. They sold the company in 1992.
It was that experience that gave him the desire to learn more and study family business management.
He has written two textbooks and several articles on the subject and works as a consultant for family firms.
“I deal with family conflict, improving communication and family decision making. I make recommendations and set up governance tools to help manage the business more effectively,” Alderson said.
The grand opening will launch the center and honor the 100th anniversary of Moss Bros. Auto Group and its three generations of family ownership.
“Dr. Alderson knows first-hand the unique challenges that come with the combination of family relationships and business enterprise. It seemed a natural extension of our efforts to engage directly with these organizations,” said Dr. Tim Gramling, dean of the School of Business. “We are pleased to bring this knowledge and experience to our area through the CBU Family Business Center.”
The grand opening will be 5:30 p.m. Dec. 1 in Innovators Auditorium at CBU. For information, please contact Alderson at kalderson@calbaptist.edu.