Family businesses contend with unique challenges, including decisions about who will take over the business one day. The stress of succession planning, generational dynamics, and reconciling personal relationships with professional responsibilities can significantly strain operations. The Ozmen Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Nevada, Reno (UN Reno) has developed a new program providing tailored support to help family businesses strategize for future success.
Created from the shared vision of advisory board co-chairs Jeremy S. Lurey, PhD, and Chris Yount, MBA, the Family Business Program delivers expert insights to family-run businesses through a range of services, including workshops and webinars on topics such as finance, marketing, and succession planning. The program assists family businesses with integrating cuttingedge technologies such as AI, and facilitates networking opportunities with influential figures in their field.
Networking is at the heart of the effort, with the most impactful wisdom emerging not from industry giants, but from other family business owners, leaders, and mentors sharing their tools and experience.
“The point is to gather together family business leaders to help with the issues distinct to running a family business,” Yount says. “Running a business is hard, and living in a family is hard, and when those two things cross, it gets exponentially more difficult.”
Yount points to a pivotal intersection where exceptional circumstances outpace conventional solutions, and the Family Business Program bridges this gap for an array of establishments.
“It’s manufacturing, its agriculture, its technology, its banking; there are family enterprises in every industry you can think of,” Lurey says.
Lurey and Yount each bring extensive expertise from different sectors. Yount, once a third-generation family business leader, now serves as entrepreneur-in-residence at UN Reno, while Lurey, founder of Family Legacy 1st, specializes in coaching and consulting for family business owners and operators.
Corporate sponsorships are essential to the program’s viability, and Family Legacy 1st, along with Whittier Trust investment firm and Premier Private Client Insurance Services by Chivaroli, provide not only financial support but also direct consulting services to participants.
Community connections are critical, and the Ozmen Center works to strengthen ties between academic research and local business partners in order to drive innovation and economic growth in the region.
Since its 2014 establishment through a generous gift from Eren and Fatih Ozmen—accomplished entrepreneurs, alumni of the University of Nevada, Reno, and executive leadership of the Sierra Nevada Corporation—the Ozmen Center has been a clearinghouse for business resources, fostering the development of student ventures, supporting faculty in commercializing their research, and linking northern Nevadans with opportunities for business skill-building. The Family Business Program is just one of many dynamic and impactful initiatives it offers.
Compounding its active community involvement, the program’s location situates UN business students in close proximity to seasoned professionals just outside their classroom, with plans for more structured engagement in the future.
“The students are learning about business and entrepreneurship, but they may not have a class called Family Business Dynamics. They may not have an expert like Chris come speak to them,” says Lurey. “So our long-term goal is to integrate programs for those students.”
As businesses traverse generational change, initiatives like this one provide critical education and mentorship to navigate shifting leadership, complex budgets, and strategic decision-making. With tailored workshops, events, and consultations, the program is a tremendous asset for UN Reno and local entrepreneurs alike, demonstrating how community partnerships serve to benefit all stakeholders.
“To me, that’s the secret sauce,” Lurey says, “Working together … and helping our community.”
