The Thomas family: Jennifer, Jeffrey, Cassandra, and Espy (Facebook photo)
A cold fact: Only 30 percent of family-owned businesses make it through the second generation, according to an article in the New York Times.
So the challenge is to defy that curse.
Amy Haimerl, local author and freelance writer, reports for The New York Times on a sampling of U.S. businesses -- including two in Detroit -- that are working to defy those odds.
The story is titled: "Lifting the Second Generation Curse."
Haimerl writes about Ideal Group, a Detroit manufacturing and construction services company on Clark Avenue in Southwest Detroit with 850 employees, and Sweet Potato Sensations, a bakery on Lahser Road in northwest Detroit that has 15 employees.
Frank Venegas Jr. of the Ideal Group has both a daughter, Linzie, and a son, Jesse, working at the company he started in 1979 with $12,000 he earned selling a Cadillac Coupe DeVille that he won in a raffle, the Times reports.
Linzie Venegas is the vice president for marketing, finance and human resources and her her brother Jesse runs one of the divisions.
It's not clear who will end up leading the company, but Venegas has begun transferring stock to his children and putting an official succession plan into place to clarify roles and titles, the Times reports.
Then there's Sweet Potato Sensations:
Even at small operations, the division of labor is critical. Sweet Potato Sensations, a bakery in Detroit with 15 employees, ensures that each family member stays in a “lane of expertise.”
Espy Thomas is the Queen of Awesomeness, responsible for all customer-related duties, such as social media and branding. Her sister, Jennifer, the Master Product Formulator, develops recipes for the various products, which include sweet potato pie, cake, ice cream and waffles.
The sisters are trying to help their parents, Cassandra and Jeffery Thomas, step back from the business, writes Haimerl. They convinced their parents to build out a cafe instead of just serving bake goods, and there's talk of expanding beyond sweet potato goods.
