To the delight of clients, the Freedmans say, they have mapped out a succession plan that has already started. Barry spends about five months of the year in Florida, where he maintains an office, while Marc takes care of business in Peabody.
Clients, they say, are equally comfortable with either Freedman. Even employees say they can't decipher which one is speaking when they listen in on client meetings. "When I walk by his office and hear him on the phone, he sounds like me. It's scary," Barry Freedman says of his son.
Living The Business
Dee Balliett says that that after helping run a family business for more than 30 years, the lines between work and family sometimes seem blurry. "Our life has become our business, our business our life," she says.
That has both its good sides and bad sides, she adds. For instance, the family business-Balliett Financial Services & Trust Co. in Winter Park, Fla.-has allowed her to stay in close touch with her two children, who are employees at the firm.
She and her husband, Gene, have been able to maintain a modest balance between family life and work, she says. One household rule is that there's a moratorium on business-related conversation anytime before 6 a.m. and after 7 p.m.
Yet there are some aspects of family businesses that make life harder, she says. One example: blowing off steam. "It's hard to go home and complain about my boss," Dee says. "And he can't complain about his boss. We don't have a sounding board."
Whatever it takes to adjust to family business life, the Ballietts have had a lot of practice. Gene and Dee, who are 71 and 70 years old respectively, started their business in the late 1960s as a medical management consulting firm in Teaneck, N.J. Gene consulted with doctors on how to run the business side of their practices, while Dee worked as a secretary.
As time went on, the financial planning aspect of the firm evolved, resulting in the firm's transition into a family financial planning practice after about 10 years. In 1986, they moved the business to Florida.
Along the way, Dee has filled multiple roles. After starting as secretary, she became research director and then road manager, coordinating her husband's speaking tours. She eventually took over the firm's financial planning operations, while Gene dealt with asset management.