Family-run companies are big business in the U.S., and the world. Ikea, Dr. Oetker, Ford Motor Co., and Wal-Mart are all family-owned.

In fact, the news website business.com stated, “successful family businesses are a fairly common thing, with more than two-thirds of all the companies in the world being family-owned.”

This issue of B2B is the Legacy issue, which highlights some of those great businesses in the area that are family-owned. The roundtable this issue was with the owners and operators of a variety of generational businesses. 

Bozell is one company that started in Omaha 100 years ago and has been through many changes—starting as a small firm out of the homes of two former newspapermen, going nationwide with offices from New York to Arizona, and coming back to its roots of being a small, local firm. Their story, and how some of their most well-known campaigns came about, is an article I was pleased to write for this issue.

Funeral homes have traditionally been family-run, but they have become increasingly corporate. The company Carriage Services Inc. has partnered with more than 40 funeral homes across the country, and said in their annual shareholder’s letter that their revenue in 2020 increased by 20.2% to $329.4 million, with an increased EBITDA of 29.3% of $141.9 million compared to $109.8 million in 2019. In Omaha, however, funeral homes and directors often stay in the family. Tom Belford and Brian Roeder, both third-generation funeral directors, stated that their businesses are about the people, not the shareholders.

There are several great articles in this edition, and I hope you enjoy them all.

This article originally appeared in the August/September  issue of B2B Magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.