Web sites give advice, guidance for family firms

Family owned and operated. It's a phrase you hear quite often in the Ozarks, proudly emblazoned across letterheads and advertisements. It speaks of pride in ownership, tradition and commitment to the community. But what does being a part of a business dynasty really mean? Find out by visiting some of these Web sites devoted to family businesses. A Web page with links to all these Web sites is located at

thelibrary.springfield.missouri.org/about/10-18-99.htm.

Entrepreneurial Edge

edge.lowe.org/search.htm

This site provides access to a massive amount of practical information, especially geared toward established, growing companies. Use their internal search engine for full-text keyword searching. Use quotation marks to enter "family owned" for an exact-phrase search and you'll get more than 100 hits, with a certain amount of duplication.

"Family business" (again using quotation marks) yields more than 130 hits, again with duplication. The resulting documents deal with such subjects as how family businesses that have grown resistant to change can stimulate innovation and how to deal with the difficult issue of succession planning.

Family Business Entrepreneurs

http://entrepreneurs.miningco.com/business/business/entrepreneurs/

Small Business Information

http://sbinformation.about.com/business/business/sbinformation/

About.com (once known as Mining Company) is a network of hundreds of dedicated, topic-specific human experts known as guides. Each guide has successfully completed About.com's rigorous certification program and each must continually meet strict standards.

Only about 25 percent of those who apply are accepted for the guide training program and graduate to running a GuideSite. Guides are responsible for updating their sites with new links and features at least once a week, but many of them update daily.

So, every time you visit these two GuideSites dealing with family business you may find new material or even a totally new approach.

Arthur Anderson Center for Family Business

www.arthurandersen.com/cfb/

As part of the accounting and consulting giant Anderson Worldwide, the Center for Family Business uses an hourglass logo as a reminder that each of us receives a finite amount of time to realize our aspirations.

In a family business, the individualized and personalized aspirations of each family member are intertwined with the core source of family income, namely the demands of running the company. See "What's New," since the site updates very frequently and try "Keys to Family Business Success" and "Family Business Links."

Family Business Solutions

www.entrepreneurmag.com/entmag/61_family.html

When it comes to Internet sites providing information on family-owned business, Entrepreneur Magazine wisely points out that "there are scads of them, but many are so blatantly sales-oriented that you wonder why anyone would trust their advice."

Entrepreneur then proceeds to suggest some that are informative, reliable and without bias. Also to be found is an explanation of the effects of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 on the family business.

(Mike DePue is the business librarian at the Main Library, 397 E. Central. For almost 18 years he has answered thousands of questions on as many topics.)