Runnning a Multi-Family Business Working together can get complicated when two or more families run a single business.

It's tough enough for one family to keep a business going from one generation to another. What happens when the founding partnership was between two families? Will the future generations of each partner be as in tune with each other as their parents or grandparents were?

Probably not. So when the second generations find themselves in the position of managing or owning the business started by their parents, they need to ask themselves: "Do we agree on the business mission and goals? Do we want the ownership as our parents conceived it to stay intact?"