NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane Family Business Center will host “Starting From Scratch: A Tale Of Growth With Two Family-Owned Businesses,” a forum presentation on Friday, September 11, 2015, from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Tulane University’s Kendall Cram Lecture Hall, Lavin Bernick Center for University Life, 31 McAlister Dr.
Speaker Jeffrey H. Goldman, whose family owns both Nu Finish car care products and Carol’s Cookies, will be joined by his parents, Peter and Carol Goldman, to talk about adapting your business as things continue to evolve in the small business environment.
Peter is the president of Reed-Union Corporation, the manufacturer of the Nu Finish brand, and Carol Goldman is the founder of Carol’s Cookies, Inc.
Jeff, a fourth-generation member of Reed-Union, and a second-generation member of Carol’s Cookies, will talk about how he stepped in to help grow two very distinct family businesses. Carol's Cookies was more of a lifestyle business that needed more organizational structure. By contrast, his father's Nu Finish was a well-established brand. Although Nu Finish was thriving, the industry was experiencing mass consolidation and adapting to find new customers, vital to the brand’s growth.
Jeff will discuss how he took a fresh approach to both businesses, including his strategy for implementing change as well as the tasks he faced with the businesses when he decided to “start from scratch.”
Reed-Union Corporation, the parent company of Nu Finish, began in 1929 as a specialty chemical coatings manufacturer in Chicago, IL. With the goal to produce high-quality products, Reed-Union has been an innovator and leader in the industry while marketing products to select retailers throughout the world. Today, the third and fourth generations of the original founder are actively involved in operating this family-owned company. Jeff Goldman BA ‘98 and Peter Goldman BA ‘66 are both Tulane University alums. The Goldman family has further ties to Tulane University with Amy Goldman, BSM ’98 (wife of Jeff) and Karen Goldman, NC ’97 (daughter of Peter and Carol). The Goldman Family also supports Tulane University with the Goldman Office of Disability Services.
In addition to the Goldman family presentation, Barry Fine, Vice President and Wealth Planning Strategist at Capital One, will be discussing the importance of a family business continuity plan. Fine suggests not only do company owners need to know how they will function in the event of a major disruption, but he also notes that lending institutions are starting to consider continuity plans as well when providing capital or funding a project.
Founded in 1992, the Tulane Family Business Center is a program of Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business. It has served more than 100 family-owned companies with programs and resources that enable these members to successfully plan, evaluate and manage their companies as they transition from one generation to the next.
To register, call (504) 862-8482 or email: familybiz@tulane.edu
