4 Secrets to Highly Successful Family-Owned Businesses The son of the late founder of the largest family-owned and operated RV manufacturer in the world discusses how they keep the company going strong.

By Stacey Alcorn

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Jayco

In 1968, Lloyd Bontrager developed a prototype camping trailer and unique lifter system for fold-down campers. With 15 employees on staff, he manufactured and sold 132 campers that year and Jayco was born.

Today, Jayco has more than 2,000 employees and sells more than 30,000 RVs each year. Its story is amazing, not just because of the company's growth, but because Bontrager died in 1985 in a plane accident, and so the vision of the company was left in the hands of his family. For 40 years now, his family has carried out the Jayco legacy. I recently interviewed the CEO, Derald Bontrager, to find out the secrets to running a highly successful family-owned business.

Re-define family.

Derald says that one of the keys to the success of the Jayco legacy has been in how they define family. Derald and his brother, Wilbur, run the organization, and their mom, Bertha, still sits on the board. However, beyond blood relatives, they consider their employees (2,000 at Jayco plus another 1,000 at affiliated companies), their dealers and the customers to be family too.

Related: This Third-Generation Family Business Thrives on Service

Derald says that when you re-define who the family members are, it forces you to raise the bar as far as value offered. It's no longer god enough to compare yourself to industry standard, you must instead ask yourself, "Is this what I would do if it were one of my siblings?"

Draw lines.

Jayco is the largest family-owned and operated RV manufacturer in the world. It's a huge industry. According to GORVing.com, more than 22 million Americans will RV this summer alone.

How does the mother, siblings and now third-generation Bontragers keep their sanity at cookouts and holiday parties when the big elephant in the room as far as conversation goes is always the business?

Related: Keepin' it in the Family: How to Structure a Business With Your Closest Relatives

"Easy," says Derald Bontrager. "We don't talk about work when we are together as a family. The place to talk about business is at the office. When we are with family for family gatherings, that subject is off the table."

It's an option, not a requirement.

Derald says that the one piece of advice he has for anyone, including future generations of Bontragers, is to pursue your dreams. He says that if you have a dream, go after it and don't get stuck in a role, a business or a life that someone else invented for you.

Not all of the Bontrager family members are involved in the RV industry, Derald says, and this is by design. He says that if any of their nieces, nephews, children or grandchildren are passionate about the business, then by all means they will find room for them. If however, they have dreams that are bigger or different than Jayco, then they are encouraged to go pursue those interests instead.

Talent and character.

Derald Bontrager says that Jayco has thrived as a family-run business for 47 years because his dad, Lloyd, was extremely good at surrounding himself with people of character and talent. He says that you need to find people who look beyond a policy and procedure manual in order to do what's right for the company and for the customer.

When you find people like this and you put them in charge, Derald says, your company can survive anything, even the loss of the man with the vision, drive and determination to start it all.

Related: A Family Legacy: Tennessee Brothers Seek to Revive Fallen Whiskey Empire

Stacey Alcorn

Author and Entrepreneur

Stacey Alcorn is CEO of Boston-based Laer Realty Partners.  She owns and operates several businesses in the Boston area including a consulting firm, a law firm and a fashion line. She is the author of REACH! -- Dream, Stretch, Achieve, Influence.

Editor's Pick

Related Topics

Business News

'It's Getting Worse By the Week': Kevin O'Leary Issues Grave Warning About Commercial Real Estate Industry

The "Shark Tank" star spoke to impending devaluation of stocks in the industry on FOX Business' "Varney & Co."

Data & Recovery

Invest in This IT Education Bundle While it's Only $50

Train your team on IT and cybersecurity fundamentals with this limited-time deal

Business Plans

Want to Know If You Have a Great Business Idea? Ask Yourself These 10 Questions.

Business expert Eric Butow gives you a list of probing questions to help you analyze your idea in the new book "Write Your Own Business Plan."

Buying / Investing in Business

Why Entrepreneurs Swear by WELD as the Secret to Maximizing Wealth

Write-Offs, Exit value, Lower taxes, Depreciation: Use the WELD method's transformative principles for unmatched entrepreneurial wealth.

Business News

Walgreens' Battle Over High-Tech Cooler Doors Heats Up

The lawsuit, initially filed in June, is seeking $200 million in damages.

Living

How to Balance Entrepreneurship and Family Life in 2023 and Beyond

Our evolved definition of success underscores the undeniable importance of mental and physical well-being.