Managing small business - Essay Example

Mama Mancini’s is a small, family run business. It was started way back in 1913 when Arturo Mancini set up an Italian restaurant in downtown Chicago, serving genuine home made sauces. Over the years, the popularity of the restaurant’s Italian sauces encouraged Bruno, the third generation Mancini, to start up a separate business in the manufacture of sauces. Although this is a small family owned business, in the past five years the popularity of their sauces has spread and they have expanded their operations in the greater Chicago area, with their sales doubling over a five year period.

Whereas the business was running at a loss five years ago, the break even point was reached during the third year. The company’s financial statement may be summarized as follows: The success of this small family owned business is largely due to good planning, the quality of their product and the identification of the niche market. To a great extent, the vision and planning of the owner Bruno Mancini has contributed to its success. This Paper focuses on the dynamics of owner-owned enterprises and the case of Mama Mancini’s was chosen because it is a typical example of a successful, family owned small business, which are cropping up in increasing numbers all over the world.

What classifies Mama Mancini’s as a family owned business? A family owned business is classified as such when family members own and operate the operations of the business. While researchers have put forth many definitions of family owned small businesses, there is general agreement that family involvement in ownership and management classifies the enterprise as a family owned business (Handler, 1989). Small business form an important part of the American economy and studies have identified 75% of all businesses in the United States as being are family owned enterprises (Greenwald, 1993).

Other relevant studies have shown that family