81 Examples of a Family Business

John Spacey, April 15, 2021

A family business is a business that is directed and controlled by multiple generations of a family. This term is associated with small businesses such as farms, small shops and restaurants that are passed to multiple generations. However, on a global basis 30% of firms with sales over $1 billion are family businesses. The following is a list of common family businesses with a focus on small business.

Advertising (e.g. Creative services for local advertisements)	Agents (e.g. Real Estate Agency)
Agritourism	Antiques & Collectables
App Development	Asset Management
Automotive (e.g. Repair and Customization)	Bakery
Brewery	Brokers (e.g. Insurance Broker)
Business Services (e.g. Consulting)	Cafe
Cake Shop	Child Care
Cleaning Services	Construction
Consumer Products	Cottage Industry
Craft Production	Creative Services (e.g. Graphic Design)
Demolition	Diy Shops & Cafes
Ecommerce	Education & Training
Environmental Remediation	Event Planning
Event Services	Facilities (e.g. Banquet Hall)
Farming	Fashion (e.g. Tailor)
Florists	Food Products
Food Services (e.g. Catering)	Franchising
Game Development	Health & Beauty (e.g. Barber)
Hotels & Lodging	Import / Export
Information Technology	Installation Services
Jeweller	Landscaping
Leasing (e.g. Musical Instrument Leasing)	Liquidator
Maintenance Services	Marketing Services (e.g. Event Promotion)
Media (e.g. Podcast)	Mobile Vendor
Moving	Niche Brand
Nightlife (e.g. Bars & Pubs)	One Stop Shop (e.g. Convenience Store)
Pet Services	Photography
Plant Nursery	Product Customization
Professional Services (e.g. Architectural Firm)	Property Management
Publishing	Real Estate (e.g. Apartment Rentals)
Recruiting & Staffing	Recycling & Reuse
Rentals (e.g. bicycle rental)	Repair Shop
Reseller	Restaurant
Retail Shop	Second Hand Retail (e.g. Selling Used Boats)
Shipping & Delivery	Software Services
Spas	Sports & Recreation (e.g. Sports Club)
Storage Services	Street Vendor
Trades & Renovation	Transportation Services (e.g. Trucking Company)
Travel & Tourism (e.g. Boat Tours)	Vacation Rentals
Value Added Reseller	Vineyards
Wholesaler

A niche brand is a product or service that meets a relatively unique customer need. For example, a brand of sunscreen that is completely natural, plastic free and environmentally friendly that appeals to consumers with a particular set of ethics and preferences.

Cottage industry is production at small scale. For example, a farmer who bakes 20,000 pies each year in a commercial oven to diversify their income.

A value added reseller adds something to the products or services of a third party. For example, providing support for open-source software products.

Notes

Family businesses represent 80 percent of all firms in the US, 85 percent in the European Union, 90 percent in the Middle East and 99 percent in Japan.

Japan has an odd tradition of adoption for the purposes of continuation of a family business whereby adult managers in a business are adopted by business owners.

Family wealth that is passed from generation to generation, known as old money, represents a high portion of total global wealth. As such, families are arguably more influential institutions than businesses themselves.

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References

Kachaner, Nicolas; Stalk Jr., George; Bloch, Alain (November 2012). "What You Can Learn from Family Business". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 30 March 2017.