There are
three factors, or arms in any family business, namely
ownership, business and family. Each factor changes with the
passage of decades, usually becoming more complex. So far we
have maintained relative simplicity.
Ownership has changed from being a
partnership in the 1950's to a controlling owner through the
1980's, to a sibling partnership now. Two key non-family staff
members own minority interests in Hollar Seeds. The next stage
for a family business is usually a cousin consortium, but we
may choose to revert back to a sole family owner in the next
generation. That kind of ownership leads to quick and flexible
decision-making, one of the best characteristics of a family
business.
The business arm was never at the
‘start-up’ stage, since my father, Victor, purchased the
50-year-old R.H. James Co. in 1950. As a whole, the business
has been in the 'expanding' stage the whole time, including
internationalization in the 1960's. Modernizing our plant
breeding department in the 1990's was an important step.
Our extended family is at all stages
of development. Vic is 'passing the baton', his boys are
'working together', and the third generation is about to be in
the 'entering the business' stage.
