Center for Family and Small Enterprises

Mission

The Center for Family and Small Enterprises' mission is to support and encourage the success of family and small businesses in the East Texas area by providing a forum for education, resources, advice and counsel, networking opportunities, and interactive programs. The Center focuses on the issues and challenges that family and small businesses must overcome to grow and prosper. We seek to develop and disseminate information relevant to the continuity, health, and performance of these enterprises.

Objectives

• Celebrate and encourage successful family and small enterprises. Create advice and counsel resources for students desiring a career in family and small enterprises.
• Enhance business performance by developing communication skills among family members within and between generations and with non-family employees and among small business partners and their employees.
• Identify and facilitate the resolution of potential relationship conflicts among family members within and between generations, and with non-family employees and among small business partners and their employees.
• Augment business continuity by improving family and small business successions, preparing the incumbents to retire or phase out, while equipping the successors to assume leadership of a growing business.

Services

The Center for Family and Small Enterprises will provide:

• Educational seminars with expert family and small business speakers.
• Meetings facilitated by the Center Director to identify and assess members' family or small business needs and goals.
• Professional consulting services from highly qualified faculty members of the College of Business & Technology and others.Networking opportunities among Center for Family and Small Enterprises members and friends and other business leaders in the East Texas area.
• An electronic newsletter for all Center members and friends, which will compile the best and most innovative family and small business news from nationally known experts along with information and viewpoints from our sponsor businesses.
• Opportunities for interaction with family and small business peers and a chance to share experiences in a confidential atmosphere through affinity meetings (peer meetings) – workshops that are specifically designed for particular members, such as senior management/owners, small business partners, junior generation in the business, family not in the business, non-family key executives, and others.
• The Center will recognize and celebrate successful family and small businesses in the East Texas area through the Family Enterprise Awards