Mothers & Daughters Use Their Special Bond To Build Successful Businesses

The Canadian Press:

When Enid Stettner’s homespun company Wild Thymes started to catch on, she needed a smart, steady hand to help with the increased workload. So she brought on a partner she trusted completely: her daughter.

Ann was working in sports marketing at the time and up for a change. Together, the two have expanded the company from a tiny establishment of infused vinegars assembled at the family farm near Greenville, N.Y., to a bustling specialty foods business.

Their marinades, vinegars, dressings and chutneys are sold at gourmet chains like Whole Foods, Crate&Barrel, Williams-Sonoma, and mom-and-pop shops like Dunning’s Market, my own mother’s store outside Chicago.

The age-old concept of father-son partnerships is being turned on its head as more women go into business for themselves. From 1997 to 2002, the number of women-owned businesses in the U.S. grew 20 per cent, twice the national average for all businesses, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. More than 6.4 million businesses around the country are owned by women.

Tom Juenemann of the non-profit Institute for Family-Owned Business in Maine, said the mother-daughter combination is the least common of all the family-run business possibilities. But the trend is growing, especially in the last decade, though there are no official statistics kept on how many businesses are mother-daughter run.

In recent years, Beyonce Knowles and her mom, Tina, opened a clothing line called “Couture. Kick Soul.” Other families run massive corporations. And everyday women are working together to open massage therapy companies, restaurants, law firms, bakeries and jewelry stores.

Photo from Wild Thymes

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