Built To Last: Sustainable Success For Family-Owned Construction Businesses | The Family Biz Show Ep. 132
Release Date: 05/14/2026
Why Family Businesses Sell by Gen 3 — and How Marshall Rabil’s of Hubs Peanut Didn’t | The Family Biz Show Ep. 138
The Family Biz Show
What does it take for a family business to reach the third generation when so many others in its industry have sold? You don't have to choose between growing the business and protecting what makes it special. "How do we make it to the next generation without selling?" "How long should a succession plan really take?" "How do we build accountability without losing our culture?" "What happens when family members want to keep their board seats forever?" This conversation shows you what it looks like from the inside. In this episode of The Family Biz Show, Michael Palumbos welcomes back Marshall...
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Center for Family Business at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF): A conversation with Tim Schultz of Family Enterprise USA. | The Family Biz Show Ep. 137
The Family Biz Show
What if the biggest threat to your family business isn't competition, but the policies and decisions that could affect everything you've worked generations to build? You've spent years growing your business, supporting employees, and creating opportunities for your family. But protecting that legacy requires more than running a successful company. "How do I protect my family business from changing tax policies?" "What happens if the next generation isn't ready to take over?" "Who is representing family-owned businesses in Washington?" "How do I protect our legacy without sacrificing family...
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Hire A Players on Purpose, Not by Luck with Andrea Roberts | The Family Biz Show Ep.136
The Family Biz Show
What if your next great hire wasn’t the result of luck—but of a hiring process you could repeat again and again? Hiring the right people can transform your business. Hiring the wrong person can consume your time, hurt your culture, frustrate your strongest employees, and leave you wondering how you missed the warning signs. “Why do great candidates sometimes turn into poor employees?” “How can I tell confidence from actual competence?” “How do I stop relying on gut instinct when hiring?” “What if there just aren’t enough good candidates available?” This conversation gives...
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Cort Brazelton on How to Own a Family Business Without Having to Run It | The Family Biz Show Ep. 135
The Family Biz Show
What if protecting your family business for the next generation means accepting that your family doesn’t always have to run it? What if stepping out of the CEO role isn’t giving up control—but becoming a better owner? “I want the business to stay in the family, but does that mean a family member has to lead it?” “How do we bring in outside executives without losing what makes our company ours?” “How do we prepare the next generation to become responsible owners—even if they never work in the business?” “How do we build something that can thrive long after today’s...
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Cornell University's Smith Family Business Initiative and University of St. Thomas Family Business Center: A conversation with Dann Van Der Vliet and Jon Keimig. | The Family Biz Show Ep. 134
The Family Biz Show
Where can family business owners turn when the hardest challenges aren’t just about running the company—but navigating the family behind it? You don’t have to figure out the complexities of family business alone. “Who can we talk to about the issues we can’t discuss anywhere else?” “How do we start conversations about succession before it becomes urgent?” “How do we prepare the next generation without pushing them into the business?” “How can we make better decisions together as our family and business grow more complex?” “Everything is going well. Why should we start...
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Cameron Bishop: The #1 Mistake That Could Cost You MILLIONS When Selling Your Business | The Family Biz Show Ep. 133
The Family Biz Show
Ready to sell your business? What if one mistake could cost you millions before negotiations even begin? "Am I really getting the best price?" "What if my business isn't worth what I think?" "Should I accept the first offer?" "How do buyers actually value my company?" "What if I'm not as prepared as I thought?" This conversation gives you the answer. In this episode of The Family Biz Show, Michael Palumbos sits down with Cameron Bishop, Partner and Managing Director at Raincatcher, to uncover the costly mistakes business owners make before selling their companies. From owner dependency and...
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Built To Last: Sustainable Success For Family-Owned Construction Businesses | The Family Biz Show Ep. 132
The Family Biz Show
Growth can look like success from the outside. But inside a family-owned construction business, growth can also create pressure, confusion, and decisions the original business model was never designed to handle. “You built something successful, but why does it feel harder to run?” “Why is every decision still coming back to you?” “How do you pass the business forward without damaging the family?” “What happens when wealth grows faster than communication?” “Are your advisors solving separate problems, or helping you see the whole picture?” This conversation gives you the...
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What Wealthy Parents Must Teach Their Children Early | The Family Biz Show Ep. 131
The Family Biz Show
If you are raising children in a wealthy family, you may wonder how to give them opportunity without taking away their drive. This conversation helps you understand what children need to learn early so wealth becomes a source of responsibility, not entitlement. “I want my kids to appreciate what they have.” “I don’t want comfort to make them soft.” “How do I talk about money without saying too much?” “How do I raise grounded children when life is already easier for them?” “What if I’m accidentally making things too easy?” This conversation gives you the answer. In this...
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The $84 Trillion Opportunity Most Family Businesses Are Missing | The Family Biz Show Ep. 130
The Family Biz Show
You can build a successful business… and still lose the family along the way. Most family business transitions don’t fail because of one catastrophic mistake. They fail because of small conversations that never happened. Because leadership wasn’t prepared. Because expectations were never aligned. Because no one wanted to ask the hard questions. “What happens when I step away?” “What if my kids don’t want the business?” “How do we protect both the company and the relationships?” “Why does every conversation about succession become emotional?” This conversation gives you...
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The Family Business Problems Legacy Can Solve | The Family Biz Show Ep. 129
The Family Biz Show
Most conversations about family business problems focus on what’s broken—conflict between generations, lack of succession clarity, or stalled growth. But what if many family business problems aren’t caused by dysfunction at all? What if they’re caused by something far less obvious—and far more fixable? In this episode of The Family Biz Show, Michael Palumbos sits down with second-generation owner Ed Delia to explore a different lens: many family business problems are not operational failures. They are translation failures. They come from businesses that have built something...
info_outlineGrowth can look like success from the outside.
But inside a family-owned construction business, growth can also create pressure, confusion, and decisions the original business model was never designed to handle.
“You built something successful, but why does it feel harder to run?”
“Why is every decision still coming back to you?”
“How do you pass the business forward without damaging the family?”
“What happens when wealth grows faster than communication?”
“Are your advisors solving separate problems, or helping you see the whole picture?”
This conversation gives you the answer.
In this episode, Michael Palumbos leads a powerful discussion on what it really takes to build sustainable success in family-owned construction businesses. The conversation explores why many construction companies outgrow the systems, leadership habits, and informal family assumptions that helped them succeed in the first place.
You’ll hear from Ricky Stellar, Roey Diefendorf, Jerry Aliberti, and Anthony DiTucci as they unpack the hidden pressures behind growth: owner dependency, unclear roles, siloed advisors, family expectations, succession tension, and the need for stronger governance.
This is not just a conversation about revenue.
It is a conversation about leadership, trust, communication, ownership, and the future of the family enterprise.
Ricky Stellar brings the perspective of a wealth advisor helping families coordinate planning, ownership, taxes, and long-term financial decisions.
Roey Diefendorf shares deep experience as a fourth-generation family business leader and advisor focused on preparing families, not just assets, for generational transition.
Jerry Aliberti brings operational insight from his work with construction companies, helping leaders develop stronger teams, accountability systems, and scalable structures.
Anthony DiTucci offers a practical view of what happens inside family-owned construction businesses when leadership, planning, and people systems are not clear enough to support the next stage of growth.
At the heart of this episode is a simple but powerful idea: what got the business here may not be enough to carry it forward.
The founder’s hustle, instincts, and relationships may have built the company. But sustainable success requires a business that can operate through systems, leadership, communication, and shared alignment.
You’ll also hear why preparing heirs matters as much as preparing wealth, why the owner bottleneck can quietly limit growth, and why successful families need to coordinate the business, the wealth, and the family together.
This episode gives you practical, real-world insight into how family-owned construction companies can move from reactive pressure to intentional planning.
You’ll learn how to spot the warning signs before they become crises, how to think about succession with more clarity, and how to build a company that can last beyond one person.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn:
- Why growth changes more than the business itself
- How the owner bottleneck limits sustainable construction business growth
- Why family-owned construction companies need clearer roles and stronger leadership systems
- How siloed advisors can create risk for successful business-owning families
- Why succession planning must address emotions, communication, and family expectations
- How preparing heirs helps protect both wealth and relationships
- Why governance matters for multi-generational family businesses
- How coordinated planning supports long-term family business continuity
- Why employees need clarity during leadership transitions
- How to start thinking about the business, wealth, and family as connected systems
If your family-owned construction business is growing, transitioning, or preparing the next generation, this episode will help you see the pressure more clearly.
And once you can see it clearly, you can start building something stronger.
Not just a successful business.
A family enterprise built to last.
For more conversations on family business growth, succession, leadership, and legacy, explore more episodes here: