In the second-annual look at family businesses in the aftermarket, the staff of AftemarketNews and Counterman spoke with several young aftermarket professionals stepping into leadership roles at their family owned businesses. 

According to Family Business Review, there are some impressive data points that illustrate the significant place family owned businesses hold in the U.S. economy and our culture as a whole today. For example:

• The tenure of leadership in a family enterprise is four to five times longer than their counterparts;

• Family enterprises generate 57% of the nation’s GDP;

• Family enterprises employ 63% of the U.S. workforce;

• 75% of all new jobs are generated by family businesses;

• 60% of all publicly held U.S. companies are family controlled; and

• 95% of family businesses engage in some form of philanthropy.

For this year’s feature exploring the dynamics of family run businesses in the aftermarket, we asked our participants for their take on the challenge of leading and preserving the culture and foundation their forefathers built while also having to address today’s rapidly changing workplace culture. All but one, remarkably, are the third and fourth generations to help run their companies. Regardless of their tenure in the marketplace, they all share one common thread: the desire to do right by their families and their employees, who oftentimes become one and the same. Read the full story in our August 2021 digital issue right here.