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It's None of Your Business - The Family Business Podcast

Written by: Ted Gerstein/Karen Russo
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  • Summary

  • We work for family businesses. We grew up in family businesses. We understand family businesses. Who better to interview other family businesses?
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Episodes
  • The Idiot Son - Bonus Episode

    The Idiot Son - Bonus Episode
    May 27 2022
    It’s a tale as old as time and although it can be fairly given or unfairly given, the consensus is that using the term, the "idiot son", can be quite mean and created. This episode provides an in-depth look at the term, the “idiot son”, with many perspectives shared over the past seasons. Ted & Karen are certain that an atmosphere can be created through dependency with no consequences. Many insightful points are made and broken down including:
    • The status of the “idiot son”
    • The role that older generations play in the development
    • When the tag of “idiot son” is assumed, what happens psychologically
    • What needs to happen to ensure an “idiot son” isn’t created
    • The impact on the business
    • The type of pathway that needs to be forged
    • Ted shares a simple solution for families to overcome this “dilemma”

    An important lesson shared throughout the episode is that family members and “idiot sons” need to continue to prove themselves and earn respect day in and day out which can be daunting and difficult to manage. At the end of the day, the culture of the family is extremely important where mistakes are okay to be made, lessons are learned and the family members are not given everything.

    Connect with Karen & Ted:

    Website: https://www.thefamilybusinesspodcast.com/
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    21 mins
  • Business & Life Lessons from an Anti-Hero ft. Jeffrey Wolf

    Business & Life Lessons from an Anti-Hero ft. Jeffrey Wolf
    May 19 2022
    Ted & Karen are joined by Jeffrey Wolf who’s had an up and down experience with family business throughout his life and he will be the first to tell you that he’s an anti-hero who was able to come back from a challenging time. Coming out of college, Jeff was directionless and eventually joined his father who ran a wholesale operation selling mens’ dress apparel. Ted and Karen gain insight on how Jeff started out in the business and what it was like to see everything from the ground up. Time and time again, Jeff shares how grateful he was and at the same time shares his father wasn’t the type of guy who would put his arm around his shoulder and explain the intricacies of the business which is what Jeff was looking for.  Karen sheds light on the perspective of outsiders looking in and Jeff informs that people don’t know exactly what’s going on behind the scenes. Deeper into the conversation, the relationship between Jeff and his father is broken down where Jeff touches on what he wished his dad had done differently. As the landscape and environment was changing, Jeff was hit with the abrupt announcement of his father shutting down the business and Jeff dived deep into the impact it had on him and his family. This led to a rollercoaster of emotions and the outcome was Jeff coming to important realisations. It was through his life experience and how his father groomed him that he was able to come out on the other side and understand what it takes to truly be successful.

    Connect with Karen & Ted: https://www.thefamilybusinesspodcast.com/
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    33 mins
  • Hard Work Infused with Foresight ft. Cindi from Bigelow Tea

    Hard Work Infused with Foresight ft. Cindi from Bigelow Tea
    May 12 2022
    Creating a family business and a legacy is at the heart of this story which is why Bigelow Tea, a 3rd generational company gets better every year. It all started in a kitchen in a New York City brownstone where Ruth Campbell Bigelow was inspired from an early Colonial recipe. Ruth saw a need and was able to capitalise on it. Needless to say, Ruth and her husband David experienced many hardships early on that would have stopped most people.

    Cindi Bigelow, President and CEO,  joins Karen and Ted for a conversation that helps listeners understand the inner workings of a family business over 3 generations. Karen realises and touches on the foresight needed early on while Ted finds out about other family members' involvement from the beginning. Cindi shares how her father (the 2nd generation) helped bring BIgelow Tea to what it is today and shares 3 important tips she learned. Karen is able to get fantastic insight on Cindi’s involvement in the family business at the start and why she was interested in continuing with it. When Cindi first joined after schooling, she quickly learned a lot of important lessons including how different the environment was, what she needed to do in order to succeed and realised that people are going to judge you simply because of your name. 

    A huge part of Cindi’s success, as she shares, is the fact that she took her time with each position, learning it from the inside out and understanding the fundamentals of the business which is still very important for anyone joining the company. Ted enlightens the listeners about the difficulty to give younger generations more control while Cindi provides fantastic insight on how her father passed the baton down to herself. At the end of the day, a company needs to be run with hundreds of employees depending on leadership so Cindi shares 4 super helpful tips on how to lead. Karen inquires about other Bigelow's working in the business and Ted wants to know if family members can join. Cindi is very clear on the next steps of the business and shares what this will look like for the next generation, her children. 

    Connect with Karen & Ted: https://www.thefamilybusinesspodcast.com/ 

    Connect with Cindi: https://bigelowtea.com/ 
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    37 mins
Management Leadership Economics
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