Family Business
Washington Family Business Awards 2012: Small Firms (Fewer than 50 employees)
GOLD WINNER:Dynamic LanguageCity: TukwilaEmployees: 45 While Sandy Dupleich was studying communications at the University of Washington and working retail, her parents asked her to pitch in at their fledgling business, Dynamic Language, a translation and interpretation company they founded in 1985. Dupleich agreed, figuring shed be there a couple years at the most. More than…
Washington Family Business Awards 2012: Midsize Firms (51-150 employees)
GOLD WINNER:Cascade Gasket and Manufacturing Co. City: KentEmployees: 135 Drawn by the promise of Boeing, Detroit gasket maker Franklin Marshall Terry, known to everyone as Mart, brought his young family to Seattle after World War II. He set up shop in 1946 in a former chicken coop on East Marginal Way, making sheet-metal gaskets on…
Washington Family Business Awards 2012: Community Winner, Grounds for Change
COMMUNITY WINNER:Grounds for Change City: PoulsboEmployees: 6 We wanted to cultivate a business that would allow us to live out our values, says Kelsey Marshall, cofounder and president of Grounds for Change, a small coffee roaster dedicated to bringing the principles of environmental stability and social justice to the coffee industry. The idea was sparked…
Washington Family Business Awards 2012: Best Practices Winner, AAOA Healthcare
BEST PRACTICES WINNER: AAOA Healthcare City: KirklandEmployees: 19 To explain the lifelong habit of starting his own companies, including an orchard he ran with his father, Patrick Chestnut says hes simply not a good employee. After being retired for about three minutes in the early 2000s, he decided if he ever started another business, he…
Washington Family Business Awards 2012: Transitions Winner, Dishman Dodge Ram Chrysler
TRANSITIONS WINNER:Dishman Dodge Ram Chrysler City: Spokane ValleyEmployees: 80 During the past 15 years, many car dealerships across the country have gone public. Becoming rare is the family-owned dealership with deep roots in a community. One Washington state exception is Dishman Dodge Ram Chrysler. Purchased by Mark K. Hollenback in 1964 and expanded over the…
Family Style: Washington Family Business Awards 2012
This is the third year for Seattle Business magazines Washington Family Business Awards. And if ever a time seemed apt to call out the contributions of the family-owned business, it is now. As the economy slowly awakens from its prolonged nap, family-owned businesses are leading the way. Whether by virtue of committed owners whose shareholders…
Breaking Out of the Inner Circle
https://seattlebusinessmag.com/sites/default/files/Halley_Bock%20Headshot…Attorney, Paradigm Counsel Family businesses are by nature very insular, but keeping strategy and other important discussions within the family fold can stifle ingenuity. Instead, savvy business owners should adopt a collaborative decision-making approach and learn to solicit diverse opinions for a stronger, healthier business. Here are 5 steps to take when a high stakes…
Tax Redemption and Attribution Rules
https://seattlebusinessmag.com/sites/default/files/Brewer%20Dori%28bw%29%…Attorney, Paradigm Counsel When a family-owned corporation[1] purchases shares from a shareholder (a “redemption“), the shareholder and the corporation frequently assume, perhaps without much thought, that the sale will qualify for capital gain treatment. In fact, because of the application of certain federal tax redemption and attribution rules, the sale could instead be treated as…
Is 2012 the Last Great Year to Preserve Your Wealth?
https://seattlebusinessmag.com/sites/default/files/Jennifer%20Keeney.jpgAttorney, Paradigm Counsel Most business owners are so focused on running their business that it becomes easy to postpone taking care of their financial and estate plans. However, 2012 is different. Over the next 11 months business owners have an unprecedented opportunity to preserve more of their hard-earned wealth and give less to the IRS….
Business Transitional Planning: Best Practices
https://seattlebusinessmag.com/sites/default/files/Don%20Bielen%20Headsho… Attorney, Paradigm Counsel If you asked 10 seasoned owners of privately-held businesses to identify their greatest business concerns, you would likely hear Business Transition or Exit planning. The majority of business owners 50 and older struggle with the fundamental questions regarding their long term relationship with their business. For example: What is the best…
Family Business Awards — Community Involvement: Honoring a steadfast commitment to giving back
WINNER: Dick’s Drive-In Restaurants Location: Seattle Employees: 150 The sleek, modern drive-in with the neon cursive sign and the satisfyingly simple menu made Dicks Drive-In a Seattle institution almost as soon as the first one opened in Wallingford in 1954. To this day, the hamburgers (originally only 19 cents), hand-dipped shakes and hand-cut fries inspire…
Family Business Awards — Best Practices: Honoring a commitment to family involvement and governance
WINNER: Nelson Legacy Group Location: Redmond Employees: 5 For more than 50 years, Bill Nelson purchased and developed commercial property, from warehouses and Class A office buildings to shopping centers and storefronts in Redmond, Kirkland and eastern Washington. A former insurance agent and owner of a brokerage firm, Nelson set a goal to build long-term…
Family Business Awards — Business Transformation: Honoring flexibility and ingenuity
WINNER: Mercer Canyons Location: Prosser Employees: 36 Everyone in this family has always liked to build things, says Mercer Canyons CEO Rob Mercer. It was never a question that you would sit idle. That entrepreneurial spirit brought the Mercer family to the lower Yakima Valley from Illinois more than 125 years ago. Theyve farmed here…