A Look Into the Best Family Companies According to Forbes!

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Are you a family business owner? Is it a dream of yours to see your family business still successfully operating over 100 years from now?

Forbes.com has put together a list of some of the best family companies in the US, in terms of both size (revenue) and longevity (year they were founded), with each variable equally valued. 

Here are a few profiles of those currently in the driver’s seat of some of the oldest and largest family companies around the US, including “words of wisdom” from their fathers. The following profiles are from the article The Best Family Businesses, published by Forbes.com on June 17, 2011. To read the article in its entirety, click HERE. 

Thomas M. Belk Jr., CEO and Chairman 
Company: Belk (department store chain) 
Relationship: Grandson of founder William HenryBelk
Advice: Everyone is important and special in some way. Two stories come tomind. At receptions Dad would introduce me to nearly everyone. Sometimes theexperience was awkward, being taken around the room, but it was alwaysuplifting. He didn't only treat me, his son, this way; he did this for manypeople, and they remember him for it. He was a people person, and he reachedout to everyone. Another memory is traveling to stores. My Dad shook hands witheveryone as he walked into the store. This made everyone feel important, and Ido this today because he taught me. People want to be recognized; take care ofthem, and they'll take care of the customers.
How does your family make everyone feel important at work?

Jim Perdue, CEO and Chairman 
Company: Purdue (poultry processing)
Relationship: Grandson of founder Arthur Purdue
Advice: My dad always said that quality should be your No. 1 value.
Is quality at the top of your family business’ value list?Do you know SC Johnson & Son?

SC Johnson & Son 
Year Founded: 1886
Founder: Samuel Curtis Johnson Sr.
Revenue: $9 billion
Run by fifth-generation family members, SC Johnson & Son makes and sells household goods and products for home cleaning, home storage, air care, personal care and insect control. Itswell-known brands include Windex, Pledge, Glade, Shout, Saran, Ziploc, Edge,Scrubbing Bubbles and Raid.
Does “SC Johnson, a Family Company” ring a bell? This slogan is repeated at the end of most commercials for SC Johnson products and is recognized around the country. Does your company emphasize the family aspect when marketing?

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