Our guest today is Tyson Ray.

After nearly three decades building a successful financial advisory practice, Tyson thought he had it all figured out—until his 50th birthday reality check revealed his own succession plan was not what he thought it was.

That moment of brutal honesty sparked the question: “If I wasn’t prepared, how many other advisors are walking around with the same blind spot?”

The answer led to his book Total Succession, his SPACE™ framework (See, Prepare, Act, Commit, Exit), and The Total Succession podcast, where he helps financial advisors exit their businesses with clarity, confidence, and no regrets.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• Why focusing on business sellability canimprove the day-to-day and the future of a family business
• The mistakes family businesses make thatunintentionally make their business harder to sell
• That sellability is about more than just the family business owner’s financial outcome and can help protect employees, clients, and family members
• The reasons family business owners often build businesses that can’t function without them
• The signs to watch out for that a family business isn’t as sellable as owners assumed
• And more…

To learn more about Tyson and his business, visit https://totalsuccession.com/.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your businesstransition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Our guest today is Ruschelle Khanna.

Ruschelle is a Chief Wellness & Emotions Officer for families navigating the emotional and relational complexities of wealth, succession, and intergenerational legacy. She works with parents, adult children, and family systems to improve communication, heal inherited patterns, and support healthier leadership transitions. Through her private Family Alignment engagements, Ruschelle helps families move from tension and avoidance to clarity, trust, and shared direction. Her work is discreet, non-pathologizing, and designed to complement financial, legal, and advisory structures.

She is the author of Inherited Trauma and Family Wealth, a book exploring how unspoken emotional dynamics, family history, and identity shape financial decision-making and succession outcomes. 

Ruschelle is also the co-founder of the Ancestral HealingCenter.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• Why family business members find it difficultto discuss money
• When is the best time to start the transitionplanning conversation
• The signs that a family is reacting frominherited stress rather than responding from shared values
• How high-stress moments for family businessescan cause inherited patterns, bad or good, to surface and replay
• More about Ruschelle’s book and otherresources for family business members who recognize old patterns affectingtheir family’s business decisions
• And more…

To learn more about Ruschelle and her business, visit https://www.lifestyleforlegacy.com/.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your businesstransition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Our guest today is Christophe Cloitre.

Christophe is the President of Ashland Electric Products located in Rochester, New Hampshire. Ashland Electric was founded in 1953 as an original equipment manufacturer of high-performance motors, fans and blowers for the aerospace, medical, transportation and military markets. Ashland was purchased by the Cloitre Family in 1985.

Christophe has run the family business for the past 10 years. He has worked in the family business for 40 years in a variety of roles. He is active in his community promoting the trades as a viable career path and a debt free alternative for secondary and post-secondary education.

Christophe is a member of a CEO Peer Group at the University of New Hampshire Center for Family Enterprise. He lives in Dover, NH with his wife, Malone, and their animals. He enjoys sailing, surfing, traveling and landscaping in his free time.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• How specializing and staying nimble in theface of changing demand has led to the longevity of Ashland Electric Products
• How Christophe has spent 40 years in hisfamily’s business, from summers spent cleaning to his role as president of thebusiness
• Christophe’s personal experience withtransitioning into the president’s role of his family’s business
• How peer groups of other family businessowners and CEOs have supported Christophe through the nuts and bolts details ofrunning a family business
• The advice Christophe has for the Next Genwho are preparing to take over their family business
• And more…

To learn more about Christophe and his family business Ashland Electric Products, Inc., visit www.ashlandelectric.com.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your businesstransition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Our guests today are Morgan Weinstock and Jackson Wetherington.

Morgan is a founding member and the driving force behind the marketing strategy at Jackson Morgan Southern Cream. With over a decade of experience in the spirits industry, Morgan brings a unique blend of innovative creativity and familiarity to Jackson Morgan, a family-owned and operated business established in the small town of Fayetteville, Tennessee. Morgan's journey into the spirits industry was a natural progression from her background in luxury event planning and hospitality. In her current role, Morgan handles a wide range of responsibilities, including overseeing the overall marketing strategy, coordinating paid media, directing photoshoots, managing events, and fostering brand partnerships.

Jackson is the operations director for Jackson Morgan Southern Cream, a role he officially took on in June 2022 after years of part-time involvement with the company since its inception. Jackson’s journey into the industry was influenced by his upbringing near Jack Daniel’s distillery, the rising popularity of flavored spirits, and the feeling of family connection that led to the creation of Jackson Morgan Southern Cream. In addition to overseeing demand forecasting, production scheduling, and vendor management, Jackson also contributes to marketing efforts and new product launches.  

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• How their business has evolved since Alfred Wetherington's whiskey still in 1921.

• What it is like to co-lead their family business with a sibling and how they worked together to carve out their individual roles.

• How Morgan Southern Cream encourages people to slow down and truly connect with one another

• What slowing down looks like in their own lives and how that helps them connect with their customers

• How clear boundaries, open communication, and outside voices help navigate their business in making family and business decisions

• And more…

To learn more about our guests and their business, visit https://sipjacksonmorgan.com/.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your business transition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Our guest today is Matt Nielsen.

Matt is a third-generation steward, director and shareholder for their family-owned Nielsen-Massey enterprises.

He currently operates as the Strategic Advisor for Corporate Development, overseeing the companies’ inorganic growth strategies via acquisition and investment. Over Matt's 30+ years engaged in the family business, he also has had responsibility at one time or another for the company’s worldwide operations, retail & food service sales, strategic initiatives, and a European business unit.

In addition to serving on the Nielsen-Massey board ofdirectors, he is currently the Director for family-owned Graziano Brothers, a 4th generation producer of specialty sausage products, specialty retailer and wholesaler; Director for Family Enterprise USA; Vice President – Treasurer and Director of the Nielsen-Massey Foundation; Executive in Residence, Mentor and Panelist in Kellogg’s John L. Ward Center for Family Enterprises.

Matt graduated from Gettysburg College in Gettysburg,Pennsylvania and holds two Certificates of Professional Achievement in Family Business Leadership and Governance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Evanston, Illinois.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• Which Nielsen Massey product Greg uses often when cooking breakfast for his family
• How Nielsen Massey’s governance structure has changed over time
• The process Matt’s family followed in forming an independent board
• How the family recruited for and chose a non-family CEO
• The role of a Family Shareholder Director
• Why Matt works with family business centers often
• And more…

To learn more about the Nielsen family and Nielsen Massey Vanillas, visit https://nielsenmassey.com/.   

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your business transition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Our guest today is JC Carr.

JC serves as Territory Account Manager at World Emblem, aglobal manufacturing leader, and CEO of Whips Miami, an exotic car brokerage business he founded while attending the University of Alabama where he has a degree in Business Administration and HR Law. He has gained comprehensive operational experience across manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Houston, and Atlanta.

JC leads company-wide philanthropy initiatives at WorldEmblem and leverages his 120K+ social media followers to bridge traditional manufacturing with digital innovation. A member of the YPO Next-Gen Forum in South Florida, he brings fresh perspectives through modern technology and progressive approaches, helping transform the manufacturing industry for the next generation.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• How World Emblem has thrived as the global economyhas changed
• What prepared JC for his involvement in hisfamily’s business
• The questions Next Gen leaders should askbefore joining their family business
• How JC’s success on social media has led toimportant questions about how to connect manufacturing products to the digitalworld
• The ways World Emblem has given back
• And more…

To learn more about JC or his family business, visit https://www.worldemblem.com/.   

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your businesstransition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Our guests today are Kati and Alex Pauls.

Kati and Alex are the visionary duo behind KP Design — atransformational branding studio that helps entrepreneurs uncover what’s true and build what’s needed to carry it forward. Blending soul and strategy, they guide clients through identity work, messaging clarity, and aligned design. Together with their oldest daughter, they’re building a family-led creative legacy rooted in truth, beauty, and resonance — and shaping the future of branding in the age of AI. 

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• The steps family businesses can take to get to the core of who they are
• The most common mistakes businesses make with branding
• How family businesses can use AI in branding their business
• The first thing family business owners should do as they pivot or transition from their business
• How to know if a family business has outgrown its brand and what to do next
• And more…

To learn more about the Paul’s family and their business, visit https://kpdesign.ca/.   

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (followlink) and receive a one-on-one review of your businesstransition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a FamilyBusiness…. We Know!

Our guests today are Dr. Flora Waples and her sister, Dominique Waples-Trefil. These powerhouse sisters founded RESTOR medical Spa in 2011 in the Denver area.

Dr. Flora Waples is a board-certified physician with degrees from the University of Chicago and Cornell Medical School at Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Waples completed her residency in Emergency Medicine and Trauma Care at the University of Chicago.

RESTOR Medical Spa fulfilled her dream of providing a complete wellness and aesthetics practice that helps patients feel as good as they look and look as good as they feel.

Today Dr. Waples practices cutting-edge aesthetic, regenerative, and longevity medicine at RESTOR Medical Spa, teaches at RESTOR Academy, and works full-time as the Medical Director at RESTOR Medical Spa.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• How the sisters’ previous experience preparedthem to successfully start their business
• The importance of having very clear roles andliving in community when you work every day with family
• The tools for how to handle disagreementswith family members
• The sisters’ advice to siblings thinking ofgoing into business together
• The importance of owners of family businesseshaving difficult conversations about priorities
• And more…

To learn more about their business RESTOR Medical Spa, visit their website at https://www.restormedicalspa.com/.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (followlink) and receive a one-on-one review of your businesstransition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Our guest today is John Shuman. John is the President andCEO of Shuman Farms, a leading grower and shipper of sweet onions based in Reidsville, Georgia. Raised in a farming family, John left college in 1993, just two classes shy of completing his business degree at Georgia Southern University, to assist with the family farm during a challenging period. The farm was struggling due to the lingering effects of the 1980s Farm Crisis, which had caused high interest rates and significant debt for many farmers, including the Shuman family. 

In the late 1990s, John Shuman revitalized the family farm, establishing Shuman Farms, which has grown into one of the largest growers and shippers of sweet onions in North America. The company is renowned for its RealSweet® brand, introduced in 2001, which has become widely recognized in the produce industry. 

Under John's leadership, Shuman Farms has emphasized community involvement and philanthropy. In 2002, he founded the Healthy Family Project®, a cause-marketing organization dedicated to creating a healthier generation and giving back to families across the country. Since its inception, the project has raised more than $7.5 million for families and children in need. 

John's contributions to the agricultural industry have been widely recognized. In 2020, he was named Grower of the Year by the Vidalia Onion Committee, honoring his more than 25 years of service to the industry. 

Through his commitment to quality, innovation, and community, John Shuman has significantly impacted the sweet onion industry and continues to lead Shuman Farms with a focus on excellence and social responsibility. 

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• Lessons John learned from his dad, Buck, by watching how he handled adversity
• How his leadership style has evolved as the company has grown from a regional to an international enterprise
• The importance of education initiatives and the family’s sister company Healthy Family Project in being a positive part of the community
• How Shuman Farms operates as a “service-first” organization in the day-to-day
• How the Shuman family is bringing in the next generation and getting them “into the front seat” of the family business
• And more…

To learn more about John or his family business Shuman Farms, visit their website at https://www.shumanfarmsga.com/.  

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passionis to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your business transition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Our guest today is Jaime White. Jaime is a strategist,speaker, and co-founder of Believe Crew, where she’s pioneering a model called SoulCare for Visionaries™—designed to help entrepreneurs and family business leaders expand without burnout.

After two decades working inside her family business andraising six children, Jaime stepped into a new chapter—moving her family to Mexico, co-creating a healing and advisory collective, and redefining success on her own terms.

Jaime is known for asking the questions that shift everything, blending deep clarity with spiritual and strategic alignment in every conversation.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• How Jaime knew it was time to exit her family business

• How her perspective was changed with her family’s bold move to Mexico
• How she and her husband help family business visionaries break free from fear
• Common challenges when the next-gen is ready to grow, but the founder is holding tight to the reins
• The evolving role of women in family businesses
• And more…

To learn more about Jaime White or Believe Crew, visit https://www.believecrew.com/.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passionis to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your business transition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!