In less than an hour, you can hear the inside story of a family business’ path from startup to success.

That’s the goal of “Family Business Connection,” a podcast from the Prairie Family Business Association that just wrapped up its first season.

It highlights businesses across the region sharing their stories of blending business with family, addressing challenges and innovating for the future.

Family business or not, you’ll likely take away some lessons you can apply in your own work world.

We sat down with executive director Stephanie Larscheid and business development manager Mason Van Essen to learn more about “Family Business Connection.”

What originally prompted you to start a podcast for the Prairie Family Business Association?

Our mission is to help family businesses thrive through generations. We went through a brand strategy workshop with Six-Point Creative, and a major outcome was storytelling. We want to be telling the stories of the families we serve in order to inspire and compel fellow family businesses to take action.

Working in a family business can feel isolated. Many feel like they can’t lean on industry partners because that’s “airing out their family’s dirty laundry.” Simultaneously, many feel like they can’t honestly talk to family members or key nonfamily employees about their frustrations. Giving a space for family business leaders to tell their story gives others the chance to hear that they’re not the only one who’s faced this challenge before and here’s an example of how to take the right next step.

How do you feel the first season has met that vision? What are some of your key takeaways from the season?

Our goal of telling more family business stories is being accomplished.

It was interesting to hear the different pieces of insight our community gleaned from each episode. I think family business leaders took one or two things away from each episode that they could apply to their situation, which is exactly what the intent was. One of the big takeaways from Season 1 was every family business has a story of how they grew the business and/or led the family. Growth requires vision, strategy and leadership to make it possible to pass it on to the next generation.

Did you have any especially memorable conversations? Is there one episode in particular you’d suggest people start by listening to for a flavor of what the podcast is all about?

The episodes in Season 1 are thoughtful and reflective. The transparency and honesty shared from the families is remarkable. A listener can take away one valuable piece of information from each of the 10 episodes and use that information to take one step forward. That step can be a meeting, a conversation, a document, a strategy — all are tools in the family business toolbox that can help the family and business thrive for generations.

Innovation is such a timely and important topic for the future of family businesses. In order to continue the business to the next generation in a viable and financially well-structured way, families need time and strategy. The two episodes that feature innovation stories are “Innovation as the Driving Force” with guest Paul Steffes and “Water Tanks, Employment Policies & Innovation” with guest Parker Jones.

Another key theme in many of the conversations was succession. Every family business has a story of rising to the occasion the business is facing and trying to pass those lessons down to the next generation of leaders. Jenn Barlund and Kyle Bender of Falcon Plastics shared their story of being paper-shredders as kids to growing into leaders through mentorship. T.J. Russell of Cloverdale Foods shared his story of realizing he needed to move over to the right lane so other leaders could take the business to new heights.

Why did you choose the Hustead family for the finale, and what can people expect from that episode?

Wall Drug is one of the most iconic family businesses in South Dakota. To be able to share their nearly 100-year history is a gift. Listeners will appreciate how hands-on the Hustead family is and will note how they may interact with the Hustead family when they visit Wall Drug.

Many, many people who have taken a road trip to the Black Hills have a memory of Wall Drug. Their story of innovation — free ice water! — during the Great Depression is a classic. Most importantly, their emphasis on “being the steward” of Wall Drug resonated. Many family business leaders feel like the family business becomes something much bigger, much deeper as it impacts more people’s lives.

What did you keep in mind as you put together Season 2? Will there be any changes?

We’ll be featuring a few really interesting and unique family business stories. There are a few stories that are unique in their approach to leadership and leadership transitions — so much so that we hope listeners embrace these philosophies and strategies! There will be a few stylistic enhancements that we are excited to launch in Season 2.

As we gather more stories with congruent themes, we’re considering adding themed episodes with a series of examples on leadership, succession, family employment policies, you name it. Overall, the episode structure seemed to fit, so the focus for Season 2 is to continue to bring interesting and relatable family business leaders to the mic.

Can you share a preview of some of the businesses we’ll be hearing from?

We’ll hear from family businesses all across the region, including Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota. There will be stories about transition, family harmony, ownership structure and letting go.

If a family business is interested in being featured, can they reach out?

We welcome those interested in being featured to connect with our team. If you have a story to tell that would benefit other family business leaders, we’d love to hear it and help share it.

Listen in

If you haven’t already, listen to an episode! Share an episode with a family who can benefit from “Family Business Connection!” Start listening here.