Business is Business

Balancing the benefits and burdens of a family-owned business
Working with family complicates the already daunting task of owning a business, and it’s tough not to take work problems home with you. The best approach is to realize that family is family . . . and business is business. 

Business is Business: Reality Checks for Family-Owned Companies is a common-sense manual for survival that dispels myths such as the power of teamwork and gender or birth-order differences in ability. Engagingly written, with no-nonsense tips and real-life examples, this defiant treatise will guide you to 

• Harness your employees’—and your own—inherent strengths
• Trust your instincts and the people you work with
• Balance lifelong relationships with fair treatment of nonfamily employees

Authors Kathy Kolbe and Amy Bruske hone decades of experience helping family businesses thrive—and running their own for more than 30 years—into practical, actionable advice for how to hire family members, how to work with them, and how—when necessary—to fire them. 

The solutions are not always easy, but understanding the frequent pitfalls of working with family is an investment that could pay back over generations. Business is Business will show you how to find joy while developing a sustainable family-owned company.

“In Business is Business, Kathy Kolbe and Amy Bruske have given us a primer on how to create thriving family businesses that can fl ex and grow with each new generation. If you are running a family business, or thinking of taking the leap, this book will be your essential guide.”

—MARCUS BUCKINGHAM, New York Times best-selling author of First, Break All the Rules and Stand Out 2.0

“All family-owned businesses are going to have ups and downs—but with Kathy Kolbe and Amy Bruske as your guides, your potential for success is greater than ever. Read Business is Business, and you’ll see what I mean.”

—KEN BLANCHARD, coauthor of The New One Minute Manager and Collaboration Begins with You

“Although Kolbe and Bruske focus on family-owned businesses, they present a wealth of great ideas and examples that are applicable to all businesses. This is a special book!”

—JERRY I PORRAS, professor emeritus at Stanford Business School and coauthor of Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

“Brilliantly conceived, beautifully written. This is a decoding of the many paradoxes that either suffocate innovation or give family businesses a competitive advantage.”

—TOM DEANS, PHD, author of Every Family’s Business and Willing Wisdom

“This powerful must-read book outlines proven solutions for leveraging family members’ strengths, dealing with communication challenges, and developing future leaders.”

—DAN SULLIVAN, founder of The Strategic Coach, Inc.

“Our family business has grown more than 20 percent annually since we began using the Kolbe methods described in this book.”

—ANTONIO DOS SANTOS, CEO of Medisca Corp

“After we started using the Kolbe process as a family, we used it to build the teams around us. The result was that we quadrupled our revenue over a five-year period.”

—JERRY LUJAN, owner of Manuel Lujan Insurance Agencies

National trade marketing and sales campaign

Online marketing campaign including trade advertising and advance giveaways via Goodreads

Advance distribution of digital ARC via NetGalley to reviews, bloggers, journalists, librarians, booksellers, and media