iBi - September 2009

Since 1971, Metro Centre has made its home in the heart of Peoria. Part of its Main Street appeal can be seen in the many family-owned businesses that call it home.

Jim Scherer's family is comfortable with innovation. The trend started in the early 1900s when his great-grandfather accepted the offer of David Dunbar Buick to sell something called an "automobile."

Walking down the red hallways with their contemporary fixtures, it's hard to imagine that this space was once occupied by antiques and artifacts from the last century.

The HBO television show Six Feet Under brought the funeral home industry into the limelight, with a behind-the-scenes look at the nature of these businesses, which are very often run by families and passed down from generation to generation.

"Green" is a hot buzzword today, but Gary Jacob's grandfather was just trying to survive the Great Depression when he provided farmers with the ability to harness wind power.

While the country experiences one of the worst recessions in decades, Steger's Furniture of Pekin experienced their second-best fiscal year in 2008.

The relationship between father and son is as old as humanity itself. Traditions, history, life experiences and leadership qualities have been passed from father to son for generations.

Operating a family business can be knotty enough without complicating the dynamic by adding other families into the mix. But for some, that has been the formula for a successful business.

When Cristy Delicath and her daughter, Michele Cox, realized they were no longer having fun in their day-to-day jobs, they decided to have a tea party-every day.

A well-known Greek proverb states, "Eat and drink with your relatives; do business with strangers."