Mercer Chamber’s New CEO: Frank-White
Overcoming the Perils of Family Businesses: Thomas Kaplan
Corrections or additions?
These articles by Barbara Fox and U. Michael Schumacher were
prepared for the September 5, 2000 edition of U.S. 1 Newspaper.
All rights reserved.
Cathy Frank-White and Thomas Kaplan
Top Of PageMercer Chamber’s New CEO: Frank-White
Power luncheons are intimidating, says Cathy
Frank-White,
president and CEO of the Greater Mercer County Chamber of Commerce.
“Nobody knows who anybody is unless they have been going for
years.”
That’s why she likes networking breakfasts. “From 8 to 9, before
the businesses open, they get a chance to stand up in a group of 50
people and tell about their business and talk to other people. It
is a cozier, more intimate way of networking.”
This chamber holds monthly breakfast meetings that move around among
the member businesses, and for the next two months they will be in
Princeton — on Wednesday, September 13, at the Nassau Club, and
on Wednesday, October 11, at Mediterra. (Cost: $12. Call
609-393-4143).
In addition to the various chamber meetings, Frank-White has two
outside
speaking engagements. On Wednesday, September 13, at 5:30 p.m. at
Mastori’s, she speaks to the Association of Government Accountants.
Cost: $28. Call Carol Dionne, 609-984-7673. On Thursday, September
14, at 6 p.m. at Merlino’s, she addresses the Greater Mercer County
Women’s Political Caucus on “Women in Business and Politics.”
Cost: $35. Call 609-586-2431.
Frank-White is in her fifth career. “Every skill I’ve picked up
so far has contributed to what I’m doing in this job,” she says.
Her mother died when she was three, and she was raised by a foster
family. But she believes her mother has been present in her life.
“I have been told that — what I have in the way of natural
personality and caring for people — comes from her. I feel she
is with me all the time.”
After working her way through Montclair State she started out as a
teacher in high school and middle school and earned a master’s from
the College of New Jersey. “I have had no one to answer to but
myself — I didn’t do anything because I had to please anybody
else, and I love everything I do,” she says. Switching careers,
she went into the political administration as administrator of
Township
of Branchburg. Then she was executive director of the New Jersey
Chiefs
Association and manager of government relations for Wakefern Food
Corporation and Shop Rite.
Frank-White came to the chamber last spring full of energy and made
it a point to personally visit each and every business that called
her office to spend time explaining what the chamber can do for them.
“I’ve been encouraged by the new members we have brought in,”
she says, “many because of the personal attention. I don’t want
to just go out and make calls and get members and then not have them
get anything out of it.”
Take advantage of what the organization offers, she urges:
Donate a door prize. “Most businesses need exposure,some type of networking system, something other than advertising ina newspaper. So when we do drawings, I don’t just draw a number andsay so and so won such and such. I make it a point of reading abusinesscard, who won, what they do, who gave that gift, and where they arelocated.”Read the chamber publication. Each new member gets one”write-up” and one free advertisement. “And believe me,people read that magazine to the point of telling me there is a wordmisspelled in my column.” As a former English teacher, she likesthe deadline challenge of doing research and coming up with new ideaseach month.Spread the word about the tourist potential of yourmunicipality.She plans to visit the mayor or administration of each town,”learningall the hidden gems that people don’t know about, to highlight eachof the communities in Mercer County.” Not only is this grist forher magazine column (her specialty is community profiles), but itprovides good answers for the many information requests her officegets.Network both in your industry and within your geographicallocation. Mercer’s chambers have member businesses who are locatedin Princeton and surrounding townships.Until now, though, the Princeton members of Mercer’s chamber havenot felt quite equal to the other areas. That’s because the Mercerchamber makes it a point to schedule twice yearly networking meetings,breakfasts or card exchanges, for each of its geographical divisions— except Princeton.”Our members in Princeton are the ones who wanted to have thingslike the other towns,” says Frank-White. “Teri McIntire(directorof advertising and marketing of Palmer Square), is on our board, andsaid we ought to form the Princeton division.” The Princetondivision’sfirst networking session will be a tailgate party at the PrincetonUniversity Stadium for the Brown game on Saturday, October 14, atnoon. Cost: $10 including game ticket. Call 609-393-4143.This division is not an attempt to move in on the Princeton chamber’sturf, Frank-White says, merely a response to requests from memberbusinesses who are located in Princeton. “We met with KatherineKish, the Princeton chamber president, to say we are not lookingto compete in any way with Princeton area chamber activities,”she says. “Businesses located in Princeton can choose to jointhe Princeton chamber, the county chamber, or either of the high technetworking associations — or all of them,” says Frank-White.The opportunity to promote Mercer County can come at unexpected times.”I was working late one night when a PR company on Madison Avenuecalled about a client coming to Washington Township. She was lookingfor information on tax rates and schools. I sent her five differentbooklets, and each one had exactly what she was looking for. `I’llmake a deal,’ I told her. `I want you to tell them that the firstthing they have to do is join the Mercer chamber.’”— Barbara FoxTop Of PageGreater Mercer MeetingsTuesday, September 1211:30 a.m.: “A Celebration of Art,” Brooke Barrie,director/curator, Grounds for Sculpture, $30. Grounds for Sculpture,18 Fairgrounds Road, 609-393-4143 .Wednesday, September 138 a.m.: Breakfast club, sponsored by BrinkerhoffEnvironmentalServices, $12. Nassau Club, 609-393-4143 .Tuesday, September 198:15 a.m.: “Strategic Alliances & Joint Ventures,”Michael Hierl of the Pacesetter Group, Veronica Fielding of PrincetonPartners Interactive Group, and Douglas J. Zeitt of Fox Rothschild,O’Brien & Frankel, $20, Greenacres Country Club, 609-393-4143 .Monday, October 25:30 p.m.: Reception and press conference for EwingCommunityFest, $20. Ewing Division. Paul Loser Hall, College of New Jersey,609-393-4143 .Wednesday, October 411:30 a.m.: “Exploring new opportunities for economicdevelopment,” Douglas H. Palmer, mayor, City of Trenton. $30.Trenton War Memorial, 609-393-4143 .Wednesday, October 118 a.m.: Breakfast club, $12. Mediterra, 609-393-4143 .Friday, October 136 p.m.: Ice Capades 60th anniversary show, $45, cash bar.By reservation. Sovereign Bank Arena, 609-393-4143 .Saturday, October 1411:30 a.m.: Football vs. Brown, and tailgate party,PrincetonDivision, $10. Princeton Stadium, 609-393-4143 .Thursday, September 14Top Of PageOvercoming the Perils of Family Businesses: Thomas KaplanFor the past 17 years Bob Fishkin has worked alongside his eldest son in the Perth Amboy camera shop, Fishkin Brothers,established over 60 years ago by his father and uncle. The businessrelationship of father and son today is that of partners. And Fishkinsays this arrangement works well because they have mutual respectfor one another. “We consult each other about everything,”he says, “from advertising to price structure.” This putsthe Fishkins in an elite group of family businesses that have managedto overcome the usual pitfalls. More frequently, attempts at passingthe reins of a business from one generation to another result in itsdemise.To combat this statistic, family businesses must learn how to dealwith these issues, rather than allow them to fester. Entrepreneurscan find ways to reduce the frustrations that accompany familyrelationshipsin the workplace at a half-day breakfast seminar on Thursday,September14, at 8:30 a.m. at Fairleigh Dickinson’s campus in Madison. ThomasE. Kaplan presents “Five Family Business Crises and How toAvoid Them” as the fifth of an eight-part Family Business Forumseries at the university’s Rothman Institute of EntrepreneurialStudies.Families join for an annual fee but guests may attend a single seminarby calling 973-443-8880, or go towww.fdu.edu/academic/rothman/fambusfor.htmA mechanical engineer from Ohio Northern University, Class of 1987,Kaplan has an MBA from Baldwin-Wallace College, and a Ph.D. fromVirginiaCommonwealth University. He was the first research fellow in theFamilyEnterprise Center at Kennesaw State University, the first doctorallevel position of its kind in the United States.At Fairleigh Dickinson, Kaplan is an assistant professor ofentrepreneurialstudies, and much of his consulting work deals with family businesstransitions, especially among siblings, and helping business ownersdevelop effective boards. “In all of our forum sessions, we striveto provide practical information and processes that families can putinto practice,” says Kaplan.The type of dialogue and on-going communication that Bob and PaulFishkin have established is essential, Kaplan believes, for overcomingfamily business crises. “Increasingly,” he says, “familieswait until problems reach crisis stage to begin dealing withthem.”The five crises typical to family businesses:No one follows through through with their commitments.No one in the next generation is interested in the familybusiness.The entitlement mentality takes over the family.No one in the next generation is good enough to lead thegroup.Every time family members talk to each other, it turnsinto a disaster.Kaplan provides two examples. On the commitment issue: “Manyfamilies with whom I work, say that they value accountability.However,that’s not enough,” contends Dr. Kaplan. “They need toactivelywork to make accountability a part of their family and businessculture.Many conflicts have their roots in disparities of commitment andfollow-through.”On not talking to each other: “Families that communicateeffectivelymake it look easy,” says Kaplan. “The truth is, however, thateffective communication takes considerable effort — and thiseffortmust be consistent. Otherwise, when family members do get together,there is great potential for everyone to unleash their frustrationson everyone else.”Even within family businesses, there are distinct situations. Firstgeneration businesses established by spouses or siblings involvedifferentdynamics than those of second or third generations that consist ofmore players, who are motivated by various drives, not always inaccord.”Issues of trust, fairness, leadership, and accountability areoften much different in a sibling team-led business,” says Kaplan.When asked how a large sibling-run company such as Fortunoff’sdepartmentstore succeeds at doing it, he said “By constantly working atit and not taking anything for granted.”For husband and wife team Sandy and Bernie Newman, partnersfor 26 years at Raritan Container Company in New Brunswick, the keyis trust. “We like each other,” says Sandy Newman, “andtrust each other’s decisions.” If her husband makes a businessdecision, she admits, “I really trust that decision, even if it’snot one I would have made.”Kaplan is optimistic that with the proper skillset and determination,family businesses can successfully pass from one generation to thenext. “Every generational transition,” he says, “isdifferentand there is not one best way to thrive over time.” For many thetransition is too difficult. Yet, Kaplan maintains, “I believetoo much time is spent talking about family business failure acrossgenerations, and we often fail to appreciate how few `old’ businessesthere are in the United States.”Sandy Newman has seen how family businesses can work: “By workingtogether, we have the same interests, and we are pulling in the samedirection.”— U. Michael SchumacherPrevious StoryNext StoryCorrections or additions?This page is published by PrincetonInfo.com— the web site for U.S. 1 Newspaper in Princeton, New Jersey.
