Hosting an audience of over 50 attendees, The Peer Alliance’s Paul and David Karofsky sat down with Maureen and Doug Woodman to discuss their experience running a legacy family business.  

David Karofsky kicked off the event by introducing The Peer Alliance and our partners in the By Family Business – For Family Business Event Series.  Segueing into the Woodman family story, David remarked on family business, saying: for those of us who work in a family business, we understand that there is no greater challenge – yet, there is also no greater privilege than to succeed in business with your family.

Following the introduction, Paul Karofsky sat down with Maureen and Doug Woodman.  Doug Woodman is President and Co-CEO of Woodman’s.  Maureen, the Director of Sales and Marketing for Woodman’s, outlined the family history of Woodman’s – illustrating their transition from clam diggers to the successful restaurateurs they’ve become.

Throughout these years, Woodman’s has achieved success by putting the business first.  Maureen illustrated an example of how Woodman’s keeps the collective business interest above the individual family member interests, saying that Woodman’s consolidates ownership interests back into the company rather than dilute it across generations of family members.  As an example, if a family member passes away, their ownership in the Woodman’s establishment returns to the business – allowing the business entity to survive and continue to develop.

To guide this process, Woodman’s relies on well-defined Corporate Governance to make sure that, above all, the interests of the business remain the paramount objective of all family members.  Speaking of family members, Woodman’s currently has over 40 active family members in the business.

When asked about how they bring family members into the business, Maureen responded saying: at age 14, they show up, get a shirt and get a job!  So how do they manage an ever-increasing volume of interested parties?  First and foremost, a strong reliance of the aforementioned Corporate Governance creates a baseline for argue-free decision-making.  Second, the executive team focuses heavily on defined roles and contributions from the family members within the business.  Lastly, Woodman’s places an emphasis on continual and gradual growth.

By setting their sights high, Woodman’s hopes to grow the business as they simultaneously grow the family – thereby insuring jobs and security for generations to come.  At present time, Woodman’s is seeking growth through additional locations – with the hope of achieving consistent growth without sacrificing their renowned quality experience.

Concluding the interview, Karofsky asked Maureen and Doug how the Woodman family balances the Co-CEO position currently in place today.  Though it’s a rare and unusual situation, the Co-CEO position is helped by the fact that Doug and his brother Steve have an exceptional working relationship.  When Doug initially accepted this position, everyone said this won’t work – but after three and a half years of success, it appears that Woodman’s has again beat the odds.

Reflecting on this and other unique decisions, Maureen emphasized that there is no “cookie cutter” approach to success in family business.  Combining an awareness of this philosophy with a strong reliance on corporate governance and structure creates the necessary recipe for success.

Finally, Maureen and Doug touched on their experience in peer groups as a strong driver for continued success in their family business careers.  Maureen noted that talking to those who’ve been there before helps her address the myriad of challenges and opportunities that continually surface in her day to day work life.  Additionally, Maureen stated that many executives in family business think they’re all alone, when in reality – they’re not.  Both Doug and Maureen have participated in forum groups throughout their careers, reflecting on the powerful benefit for their personal, professional and family lives.

Overall, the Woodman’s of Essex event was an outstanding experience and a unique view into the nature of their long-term, continued success.  Special thanks to Maureen, Doug and the entire Woodman family; also, our partners in hosting this event – The Bay Colony Group, Delphi Valuation Advisors and Innovative Equity Strategies.

For information on our next event, and further events in this series – click on the ticket below to learn more.