Generation of family ownership: Third.
Company revenues: $35 million (2014).
Number of employees: 120.
Years with the company: 13.
First job at this company: At 7, I was sweeping the floor and working the cash register. After college, I worked on Wall Street for just under a year and then joined the business full-time.
At what age? 23.
Most memorable thing I learned from my father: The importance of a good work ethic. He showed me by example.
Most memorable thing I learned from my mother: Be good, be charitable and be helpful.
Best thing about this job: The freedom to run the business the way I want. Stress comes with that, but it's worth it not to have to report to "the man."
Best advice I ever got: "Do what you say and say what you do," which a friend told me. When I had been at our company about a year, we didn't have great programming resources and I was constantly waiting around for the programmers to finish. I also needed a break from my family. I'd wake up and do some marketing for our company in the morning and then help him with his lumber business.
One of our greatest successes: Spending a lot of money to buy the domain Nuts.com and to rebrand to Nuts.com to replace our original name, Nutsonline.com.
Quote from our company's mission statement: Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all the time.
On my wall: I have a huge photo of my whole family, including my grandfather. That makes me humble and grounds me because it reminds me of how we started. I also have a plaque with a great phrase that someone gave me: "A family is like fudge, mostly sweet with a few nuts."
One of my greatest accomplishments: Having the courage to quit a lucrative job and risk it all to join the family business. My father and uncle thought I was crazy because I was making more than they were, but I wanted to do it.
Best thing about working in a family business: Especially as you get older and have children, you don't see your parents as much. I get to see my dad every day. It's a love-hate relationship, but it's a really nice thing.
Worst thing about working in a family business: There are dysfunctional elements that you don't want to see in a company, but it's a family business and there's no way around it. If you want to create a very professional environment with no yelling and screaming, it's more difficult. You can't fire relatives.
Advice for other family business leaders: Let your children in at a young age. I hear some of my friends talk about how they'd like to work in their family's business, but their parents didn't expose them to it over the years.
On a day off I like to… be with my chidren. I have three under 5, so most of my time is spent with them. I like playing sports, when I can—soccer, tennis, biking and running.
Philanthropic causes our family supports: My father supports his synagogue in Metuchen, N.J., and my uncle is involved in the Jewish Community Center in Edison, N.J. We also donate to walks that raise money for cancer research and multiple sclerosis, and we send products to our troops overseas.
Books I think every family business leader should read: One of the best books I ever read was The Nordstrom Way, by Robert Spector, because every business has customers. It's about how to treat them. I also like How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie, which I discovered in college.
I realized I had emerged from the previous generation's shadow when… the company website I designed while in college accounted for 90% of the business. And after I had been here a year or two, I had transformed the business.
Future succession plans: I bought my dad out six years ago, so I'm majority owner now. My uncle and cousin work here, and we're adding more senior managers to take the company to the next level. It's too early to think about my children's possible roles.
Words I live by: Do the right thing.
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