Women in family businesses face
unique challenges and opportunities.
Funeral-home director Ann Billow Grebelsky faces long hours away from her
children. Printing- company treasurer Meredith Solomon confronts boundary conflicts
between work and family. And executive Maria Zampini has customers who assume
that she knows nothing about the nursery business in which she grew up.
What these women share in common is that they hold high-ranking positions in family businesses. They all also face the same challenges as women who play key roles in large corporations. But the Northeast Ohio family-business leaders that Inside Business interviewed see themselves as role models who break gender stereotypes every day.
For instance, Fran Doll advises her daughter, Sheri Witte, who replaced her as CEO of Superior Staffing, to strive to attain higher levels of responsibility while still enjoying the flexibility to raise a family. Some women, such as Christine Davey Maravilla, bring their children to work.
Psychologists Jayne Speicher-Bocija, based in Columbus, and Sally Gartner
based in Cuyahoga Falls, surveyed approximately 20 women who work in Ohio family
businesses. Comparing their results to a national survey of women who work in
publicly-owned companies, Gartner and Speicher-Bocija found that females composed
35 percent of top management in family-run businesses, compared with just 3
percent in the national study.
What is it that makes women such an asset to a family business? What allows them to rise through the glass ceiling so quickly?
We talked to six women about the lives they lead and the businesses they run. We found that a 'woman's touch' is essential to many family businesses, whether it's her understanding nature that allows a grieving family to open up, or her strive to create a family-friendly work environment. Women, once responsible only for the family, not the family business, are now bringing more to the table.
Evolution
One of Christine Davey Maravilla's fondest childhood memories involves dumping boxes of powdered soap on the floor in the back room of her grandfather's store. 'He would get so mad at me,' she says of Eddy Ruggles Sr., who founded the small supermarket in 1936.
In the 1940s, the store started to sell bicycles, beginning its evolution into Eddy's Bike Shop. Thirteen years ago, the store completed its transformation, removing the deli and specializing in cycling alone.
Her 6-year-old daughter may build similar memories. She visits the Stow store after school. Maravilla sees this as one of the greatest advantages of working in the family business. 'Growing up with her entire family,' she says, laughing, 'she learns our mistakes instead of a babysitter's.'
As Eddy's has changed over the years, so has Maravilla's role. She no longer helps her grandfather (now retired) wash the floors unexpectedly. Instead, she is the bookkeeper and manager, working in an office that brims with the chaos and casual atmosphere of a family business.
When she started in the business, women and cycling were two terms that didn't mix. But as women cyclists have become more prevalent, so has Maravilla's influence.
Though she works primarily in the back office, her gender becomes an asset in sales as well as purchasing, as the store expands to suit female cyclists. Male cyclists look solely for functionality, she says. Female cyclists want style and comfort. And Maravilla knows how to find it.
She revels in the family atmosphere of Eddy's, but her favorite part of the job is designing the sales-floor displays so that they are both appealing and efficient.
Her designs weren't always a high priority. When she joined the company, her ideas were sometimes ignored. 'I would say it, and it wasn't a good idea,' she says. But when another employee would offer the same suggestion, it was used.
'It was frustrating,' Maravilla says of the experience, which she attributes to being the boss's daughter and to the management structure at the time. There were 'too many chiefs and not enough indians,' she says.
She says her ideas are no longer ignored. Maravilla has proven herself. Her love for the aesthetic aspects of the business has translated into plans to make the store 'neater, cleaner and more shoppable.' She also hopes to expand the store further into other areas of Northeast Ohio.
Many family businesses fold or are bought out during the third generation's tenure. But Maravilla has no fear that Eddy's will be a casualty. 'We are the larger company,' she says. In fact, Eddy's purchased one of its storefronts from another family-run bike shop when no one wanted to take over for the retiring owner.
Though she does not want her daughter to feel pressure to join the business, she would like to see the store continue under family management. The family atmosphere is important. Maravilla has heard parents buying bicycles tell their children that they got their first bike at Eddy's with their grandparents.
Maintaining customer relationships is the key to success in a family business, Maravilla says. 'Bicycling is an industry, not a toy,' she asserts. 'You have to be dedicated.'
Innovation
Maria Zampini doesn't mince words. Behind her frank attitude lies the heart of a true businesswoman. She is the president of Lake County Nursery Inc. in Perry, which her grandfather opened on a quarter acre of land in 1946.
Since Felix Zampini opened the nursery primarily selling roses, it has grown to encompass 1,000 acres, employ up to 250 people during peak season, and sell hundreds of flowers, trees and shrubs, 75 of which have been patented and trademarked by the nursery. The Champion Garden Center, a garden supply and decorating store, and gourmet food market, have also been added.
'I like to be the lead dog,' she says. 'I don't like looking at somebody's tail.'
Customers come from as far as Virginia, Maine and Colorado to purchase wholesale crops. Plants trademarked by Lake County Nursery are grown worldwide and can be seen lining the streets of Washington, D.C., and outside the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
Though Zampini has achieved the recognition of her peers as the first female president of the Ohio Nursery and Landscaping Association, she has faced the trials of being a female in a traditionally male business. Zampini recalls working a table at a trade show when a customer assumed she worked in the office and knew nothing about a certain tree. 'I just let him walk away,' she says.
When she began to take a leadership role at the nursery, first as vice president and then president, the nursery was in poor financial shape. Drastically improving the finances, in essence saving the business, is Zampini's biggest accomplishment.
Six years ago, she began to move the company in a new direction to increase profits. She restructured management and rebuilt from the ground up, cutting some costs by as much as 42 percent.
Under the old management style, when something didn't work, Zampini says, it was still done because it had always been done that way.
But tradition does not always equal excellence, and Zampini wants her nursery to be regarded as one of the best in the country. 'The best fruit is at the end of the branch,' she says. 'You've got to reach for it.'
Reaching, for Zampini, involves touring renowned nurseries nationwide to gather and implement ideas. Champion is the only garden center in the area where employees wear Gap-style headsets to communicate with one another and better serve customers.
Good leadership, to Zampini, involves treating employees with respect, not asking them to do things the owners wouldn't do. Her father, CEO Jim Zampini, cleans the bathrooms too, she says.
Zampini, who also works with her brother, Joe, and husband, Robert Pettorini, recognizes the challenges in working with family, noting that prior to her move to president she was her husband's supervisor.
She notes that it is difficult to separate work and home. 'We're still working on that one,' she says with a smile.
Zampini is concerned that the business calls she gets while at her children's baseball games cut into her family time, but says that while she is not a stay-at-home mother, she provides her children with an understanding of business that other kids don't have.
Zampini's understanding of business dynamics is allowing Lake County Nursery
Inc. to grow.
Ability
Meredith Solomon refuses to call her father 'Dad' at the office. It just doesn't seem professional. She calls him Barry. Professional appearances are important to Solomon, the treasurer and director of human resources at Precision Printing in Brecksville.
As a young woman in a high-ranking position within the company, Solomon is acutely aware that people may believe she achieved her position because of family connections. Her prior work experience says otherwise.
Solomon grew up with Precision Printing, which began in 1948 as a small printing shop in her grandfather Izzy Leaventon's garage in Cleveland. As a child, she would visit the office — which moved to Brecksville in 1972 and opened a Columbus branch in 1985 — with her father and file tickets for printing orders. Her grandfather would pay her 50 cents and two doughnuts for a day's work.
Her wages have since improved. After graduating from Syracuse University, she went to work for Price Waterhouse as an auditor and became a certified public accountant before returning to the family business six years ago.
Solomon says that working at a major company before joining the family business taught her how to deal with people in professional situations. Being the low man on the totem pole and striving for recognition also taught her the value of hard work. 'I can't think of a better place to start than a Big Six,' she says of the business and financial experience she gained there.
She does, however, recognize that she would be unable to achieve a top-tier job at a large corporation. 'The corporate environment is very political and tougher for women,' she says. People who want to be involved in raising families can't spare the hours necessary to become top management, Solomon says.
Family businesses are more aware of family needs. But as the first woman to hold such a role at Precision, her father sometimes forgets that the newlywed Solomon has responsibilities at home as well. 'You go home at night, and it's not done,' she says. 'It is my future and my family's future.'
The laid-back atmosphere of a family business was 'a nightmare' for Solomon when she began. Conflicts are sometimes dealt with in a very family-oriented way. 'I can yell at my boss, and he yells back,' she says, explaining how the lines of conduct between business and family sometimes cross. She attributes it to the 'Leaventon blood,' saying that it is their hot-blooded, passionate side boiling up.
That same passion allows Solomon and her family — she considers all employees family, many have known her since she was in diapers — to continue to craft a profitable business that stays ahead of the competition. Precision was the first printer in the area to utilize a direct-to-plate press that digitally transfers images from the computer to the printer, eliminating a step in production and saving a great deal of time and money.
Because the business is family owned, it is more difficult to make changes, says Solomon. People are set in their ways. She credits her father with instilling the value of progress in the company. 'His business mind is so vast,' she says.
When she began working at Precision, her father gave her a three-page list of responsibilities. 'I'm still trying to tackle them,' Solomon says.
Service
Sheri Witte's co-workers call her 'The Mole' because she does not like the fluorescent overhead lights in the renovated warehouse-style office building that houses Superior Staffing. The CEO prefers the lamp that sits on her desk.
Perhaps this is because she frequently works at home, away from the fluorescent lights, in order to spend time with her two children, Christina, 5, and David, 1. The ability to restructure her work schedule to run a successful company — it started in 1980 with three staff members and now employs 17 full-time staff and 1,500 temps — would not exist in a corporate environment.
This is precisely one of the reasons that Witte's mother, Fran Doll, founded Superior Staffing. She wanted to create a business that had a family-friendly atmosphere, a revolutionary concept 21 years ago.
After working for a national temporary agency for years, Doll left the company, signed a one-year noncompete agreement and went into business. She felt that the national agency did not appreciate her ideas or use her creativity. She was further frustrated that she was not able to show appreciation for the hard work of her staff.
Doll was told that she couldn't run a company based on honesty and respect. She did. Her daughter does. One of the key policies that both Doll and Witte adhere to is that they don't 'shop around' for people, stealing clients from other companies. 'We might lose business here or there,' says Witte. 'But in the long run, truth prevails.'
And so does Superior Staffing. Awards, articles and plaques cover the conference-room walls. In 1995, Doll was recognized by the White House as 'Small Business Entrepreneur of the Year,' an honor she says thrilled her. 'You don't think people in Washington know who you are,' Doll says. She attributes the recognition to the business philosophy of the company.
It is a philosophy that Witte calls 'servant leadership,' lead by taking care of your staff. She tries to be the visionary, see the whole picture and provide opportunities for growth to her staff. It has been difficult for her to relinquish the role of manager and become a leader instead, especially during points when business has been low.
Though Doll continues to network for the company, Witte stepped in as CEO in 1997 when Doll was diagnosed with breast cancer. 'It was like having a child that was partially raised and then watching other people raise it,' Doll explains. 'Even though you know they are the best people, it is still hard.'
The former CEO is proud that her children — her stepson, Tom, also works at Superior — have earned respect on their own, not just as the boss's daughter. She considers them her greatest accomplishment.
But Witte had to find the courage to stand on her own in the business. When she worked in sales, she would not use her name. Her mother's remarried name was on her business cards because she felt it gave her more respect.
She soon realized that she didn't need to use her mother's name for credibility. 'I have ate, drank and slept this business since I was 11,' she says with a smile.
And though she says she has rarely faced problems as a woman in business, Witte follows her mother's advice, 'Work hard and prove that we are not just blond fluff.'
As Witte speaks of her mother's influence on her business philosophy and her life, her eyes tear up. Doll, who says that she has been trained in positive thinking, has applied that attitude to her business and her life. She opened a temporary agency at the height of the recession and with a 22 percent interest rate. She expanded from Akron into Cleveland in 1983. (The Cleveland office closed. There is now a branch in North Canton, and there are plans to return to Cleveland.) And she encourages her children to grow the business.
Perhaps the clearest testament to Doll's character is her response to cancer. 'Thank God for cancer,' Witte has heard her say many times.
Doll and Witte are proud of the atmosphere they have created. But it hasn't always been easy. Another family member, Doll's stepdaughter, left Superior Staffing to start a competitive company. For Doll, it illustrated the biggest pitfall of family business; the professional conflict carried over into their personal lives, and the relationship was strained for a while.
'I have had heartaches,' says Doll. But both Doll and Witte have found joy
in running their company their way: ethically.
Heart
Ann Billow Grebelsky's official roles at the Billow's Funeral Home in Fairlawn are as office manager and licensed funeral director. She calls herself the CEO — Chief Emotional Officer.
In a business that is traditionally family-run, Grebelsky takes on a nontraditional role. She is the first female funeral director in five generations of Billows.
Grebelsky sees her gender as one of the biggest assets she brings to her position. 'Some people feel more comfortable working with a woman,' she says about the families she works with every day. Emotion is the nature of the funeral business. But she has also encountered people who ask to speak to a 'real' funeral director.
Working with families is what Grebelsky loves, and Billow's is a family business in every way. It employs multiple members of other families and has a strong community connection that allows her to know many of the families in the area well. 'I love every aspect of the business. I will put on shorts and a T-shirt and go pull weeds,' she says regarding the upkeep of the grounds.
However, funeral directors are on call 24 hours a day. Add that to the 12- to 14-hour days she regularly puts in at work, and it seriously detracts from the time she can spend with her children. 'People say, All you miss is homework,' ' she says. 'But that is a big part of being a family.'
It was a tragedy within her own family that gave her the greatest perspective on her job.
Four years ago, Grebelsky's stepson, Mark, was in a car accident and died after five weeks in a coma. 'You are more compassionate when you go through a death personally,' she says. The experience taught her how to better treat people at a very difficult point in their lives.
When Mark was in the hospital, Grebelsky found it very important that her family was included in the major decisions about his care. She has carried the attitude of inclusion and information over into her own work, trying to help families as much as possible. 'Taking care of them is the big picture,' she says.
In a time when big corporations are buying out family-run funeral homes and 'running them into the ground,' it is the families with which Grebelsky is most concerned. She says that these corporations don't treat customers with the same care.
'People look for two things in a funeral home,' she says of Billow's, which has four locations in the Akron area and its own crematorium, 'location and reputation.' Billow's has the reputation; Grebelsky wants to continue to add locations.
She is as proud of Billow's reputa- tion as she is of hearing people tell
her father how lucky he is to be working with his daughter.