Family Business Success Stories

Family Business Success Stories tells the stories of eight of Australia’s oldest and best-known family-owned businesses in Australia, all of them more than one hundred years old. The stories illustrate the passion within each generation and demonstrate the influence of individuals in the families on the evolution of a successful business against a background of the social and economic history of Australia.

Each chapter tells the story of how the business started, the hopes and dreams of the founders, the colourful characters, humour, setbacks and tragedies along the way. The author also shares the triumphs of the family business, including landmark products or services and awards. For fellow family-business owners there are lessons to learn about innovation, collaboration, conflict resolution, resilience and transfer of leadership. Family Business Success Stories is readable and engaging. It will appeal to both the business community and consumers of these eight iconic brands.

This book will send a strong message to Australian consumers about the social, cultural and economic value of family owned businesses. Although not a ‘How to . . .’ book in name, it is a must-read for anyone contemplating starting a small business or any family business in its first or second generation. The family businesses featured in the book are: A. H. Beard, Brown Brothers, Bulla Dairy, Coopers Brewers, Dymocks, J. Furphy & Son and Furphy Foundry, Haigh’s Chocolates and Samson Sadleir.

About the Author

Graeme Lofts' accomplished writing career spans three decades. Collective sales of his books total more than 1.7 million copies in Australia alone. With a background in education, Graeme has written award-winning science textbooks, as well as two non-fiction books for general readers.

Heart & Soul: Australia's First Families of Wine (Wiley, 2010) was shortlisted and subsequently ranked second in the New World Wines category of the 2011 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. It was while researching and writing Heart & Soul that Graeme's interest in family businesses was piqued by the many wineries that had been passed down through the generations. Melbourne, VIC.