Episode 102: Tepi Naturals is more than skincare – It’s a family story with Brent Thomas

Episode 102: Tepi Naturals is more than skincare -- It's a family story with Brent Thomas

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Our guest today is Brent Thomas with family-owned Tepi Naturals in Yorba Linda, California. Brent always had a deep desire to create something of his own. He just didn’t know it would lead to Tepi Naturals. He uncovered his passion for chemistry during community college, at a time when he wasn’t sure what path to take. Drawn to the clarity and structure of the subject, he went on to earn his B.S. in Chemistry from CSU Fullerton and later a master’s in Organic Chemistry from San Diego State University. Through his experience in organic synthesis, Brent saw a major issue with synthetic materials: while they might solve one problem, plenty of others can quickly unravel.

During his time as a quality control manager at a biotech company, he realized that he wanted to build something for himself – not for the future of another company. With a piqued interest from the studies his father shared with him and deeply rooted family ties, Brent saw the perfect opportunity to start a business where everyone could bring something unique to the table. Today, he’s fulfilling his dream of creating clean, healthy, and non-toxic skincare products for all through Tepi Naturals.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• Why Brent decided to start Tepi Naturals as a family business rather than pitch his idea to an existing skincare brand

• How Tepi Naturals competes in the saturated beauty industry

• The work Brent and his family have done to re-establish good communication

• The strategies for Brent and his family to keep family and business separate

• Advice for those thinking of starting a family business

• And more…

Brent, we wish you and your business continued success. To learn more about Brent, Tepi Naturals and where to buy their products visit https://www.tepinaturals.com/.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your business transition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Episode 101: Building Stronger Family Businesses Through Entrepreneurial Thinking

Episode 101: Building Stronger Family Businesses Through Entrepreneurial Thinking

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Our guest today is Lisa Ascolese, Founder and CEO of Inventing A to Z. Lisa is an inventor, entrepreneur, mother, grandmother, and the founder of several ventures, including Inventing A to Z, a product development company, and Inventors Spotlight TV, a shopping network designed to help inventors showcase their brands and sell their products. 

Lisa is also the host of The Inventress Podcast, where she offers invaluable insights into inventing, entrepreneurship, and the challenges and triumphs of building a business. She recently became a published author with her book The Inventress’s Guide to Inventing the Right Way: All or Nothing, Now or Never! and has been featured on ABC 7 NY Here and Now with Sandra Bookman to discuss her journey as an inventor and business leader. She has also come out with another book, My Favorite Book of Lullabies, a children's lullaby book with interactive QR codes to have the lullabies play along with the book as the adult reads/sings with Lisa.  

In addition to her entrepreneurial ventures, Lisa is passionate about empowering women. Lisa is the founder of a nonprofit organization about empowering women called AOWIE, The Association of Women Inventors and Entrepreneurs. She hosts the annual AOWIE Women’s Empowerment Conference, which brings together entrepreneurs for learning, networking, and growth. 

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• What pushed Lisa to begin her inventing journey

• What resilience and consistency looked like for Lisa as she built her business

• How she came up with her slogan: “Lifting Each Other Up Two Hands at a Time and Sometimes You Need a Foot”

• Lisa’s advice for second- and third-generation family businesses when things get hard

• What Lisa has learned about how to be successful as an entrepreneur

• And more….

To learn more about Lisa, her business Inventing A to Z, or any of her books, visit https://inventingatoz.com/.  

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your business transition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Episode 100: Creating a Culture of Generosity in Your Family Business with Jeff Rutt

Episode 100: Creating a Culture of Generosity in Your Family Business with Jeff Rutt

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Our guest today is Jeff Rutt, CEO and Founder of Keystone Custom Homes, a Pennsylvania-based home building company that has built over 8000 homes. Early in Jeff’s career, God got Jeff’s attention in the area of generosity.

It wasn’t long after starting Keystone that Jeff launched Hope International. Since its inception, HOPE has provided more than $1.5 billion dollars to more than 2.5 million small business owners across 24 countries in the form of microfinance loans in order to empower them to break their own cycle of poverty with the gifts that God gave them.

Over the years, Jeff has used profits from Keystone to fuel Hope’s mission. However, Jeff and his family have taken another step further by giving away 89% of the ownership of Keystone through the National Christian Foundation.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• Why it is important to create social value alongside financial returns in your family business

• What the impact of Hope’s microfinancing initiative has been around the world

• Answers to the key questions a business owner should ask before starting a social enterprise initiative in their business

• How you can practice significant generosity in your business and continue their legacy by transitioning ownership to the next generation

• Advice for family business owners who might consider giving away their business as part of their transition plan

• And more….

To learn more about Jeff Rutt and Keystone Custom Homes, visit their website at www.keystonecustomhomes.com. To learn more about or partner with Hope International, visit www.hopeinternational.org.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your business transition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Episode 99: What They Don't Tell You about Taking over the Family Business with Eric Corliss

Episode 99: What They Don't Tell You about Taking Over the Family Business

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Our guest today is Eric Corliss.

Eric Corliss is the fifth-generation steward of Corliss Management Group (CMG), a private real estate development and investment firm with deep roots in Washington State. Alongside his brother Steve, Eric has guided CMG’s evolution from its historic foundations in aggregates and sand and gravel into a contemporary enterprise emphasizing long-term real estate value, private lending, and strategic land development. Building upon the family’s existing foundation of over 2,000 acres across Pierce and King Counties, Eric has focused on enhancing operations, expanding the firm’s impact, and thoughtfully developing assets such as the 1,300-acre Sunrise master-planned community, along with multifamily, self-storage, commercial, and industrial properties. 

Eric combines hands-on operational expertise in finance, construction, and private lending with a deep commitment to multi-generational stewardship. His approach merges practical execution with visionary planning, fostering sustainable growth for the family enterprise. Additionally, Eric serves as Co-Principal of 1892 Capital Partners, CMG’s private lending arm, aligning flexible capital solutions with seasoned real estate professionals. Beyond his professional responsibilities, Eric is dedicated to his role as a husband and father of three daughters. An avid outdoorsman, he enjoys trail running and mountain biking with his family. 

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• The ways to carry the weight of legacy, while still moving forward and evolving

• His experience with succession and what he would do differently

• How he and his brother share leadership of their family business

• How stewardship and succession planning are linked

• The myths surrounding being a fifth-generation business and the importance of communication and family culture

• And more…

To learn more about Eric and Corliss Management Group visit https://www.corlissco.com/.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your business transition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Episode 98: Building a Sellable Business Even if You are Not Selling It Yet with Tyson Ray

Episode 98: Building a Sellable Business Even if You are Not Selling It Yet with Tyson Ray

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Our guest today is Tyson Ray.

After nearly three decades building a successful financial advisory practice, Tyson thought he had it all figured out—until his 50th birthday reality check revealed his own succession plan was not what he thought it was.

That moment of brutal honesty sparked the question: “If I wasn’t prepared, how many other advisors are walking around with the same blind spot?”

The answer led to his book Total Succession, his SPACE™ framework (See, Prepare, Act, Commit, Exit), and The Total Succession podcast, where he helps financial advisors exit their businesses with clarity, confidence, and no regrets.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• Why focusing on business sellability can improve the day-to-day and the future of a family business

• The mistakes family businesses make that unintentionally make their business harder to sell

• That sellability is about more than just the family business owner’s financial outcome and can help protect employees, clients, and family members

• The reasons family business owners often build businesses that can’t function without them

• The signs to watch out for that a family business isn’t as sellable as owners assumed

• And more…

To learn more about Tyson and his business, visit https://totalsuccession.com/.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your business transition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Episode 97: How Inherited Trauma Shapes Financial Decision-Making in Family Businesses

Episode 97: How Inherited Trauma Shapes Financial Decision-Making in Family Businesses

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Our guest today is Ruschelle Khanna.

Ruschelle is a Chief Wellness & Emotions Officer for families navigating the emotional and relational complexities of wealth, succession, and intergenerational legacy. She works with parents, adult children, and family systems to improve communication, heal inherited patterns, and support healthier leadership transitions. Through her private Family Alignment engagements, Ruschelle helps families move from tension and avoidance to clarity, trust, and shared direction. Her work is discreet, non-pathologizing, and designed to complement financial, legal, and advisory structures.

She is the author of Inherited Trauma and Family Wealth, a book exploring how unspoken emotional dynamics, family history, and identity shape financial decision-making and succession outcomes. 

Ruschelle is also the co-founder of the Ancestral Healing Center.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• Why family business members find it difficult to discuss money

• When is the best time to start the transition planning conversation

• The signs that a family is reacting from inherited stress rather than responding from shared values

• How high-stress moments for family businesses can cause inherited patterns, bad or good, to surface and replay

• More about Ruschelle’s book and other resources for family business members who recognize old patterns affecting their family’s business decisions

• And more…

To learn more about Ruschelle and her business, visit https://www.lifestyleforlegacy.com/.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your business transition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!

Episode 96: High Performance Motors with Christophe Cloitre, Ashland Electric Products

Episode 96: High Performance Motors with Christophe Cloitre, Ashland Electric Products

TNCFB

Our guest today is Christophe Cloitre.

Christophe is the President of Ashland Electric Products located in Rochester, New Hampshire. Ashland Electric was founded in 1953 as an original equipment manufacturer of high-performance motors, fans and blowers for the aerospace, medical, transportation and military markets. Ashland was purchased by the Cloitre Family in 1985.

Christophe has run the family business for the past 10 years. He has worked in the family business for 40 years in a variety of roles. He is active in his community promoting the trades as a viable career path and a debt free alternative for secondary and post-secondary education.

Christophe is a member of a CEO Peer Group at the University of New Hampshire Center for Family Enterprise. He lives in Dover, NH with his wife, Malone, and their animals. He enjoys sailing, surfing, traveling and landscaping in his free time.

In this episode of Family Business Today, you will learn:

• How specializing and staying nimble in the face of changing demand has led to the longevity of Ashland Electric Products

• How Christophe has spent 40 years in his family’s business, from summers spent cleaning to his role as president of the business

• Christophe’s personal experience with transitioning into the president’s role of his family’s business

• How peer groups of other family business owners and CEOs have supported Christophe through the nuts and bolts details of running a family business

• The advice Christophe has for the Next Gen who are preparing to take over their family business

• And more…

To learn more about Christophe and his family business Ashland Electric Products, Inc., visit www.ashlandelectric.com.

At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together they create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.

If you are considering a transition in your family business contact us today for a FREE  Transition Assessment (follow link) and receive a one-on-one review of your business transition preparedness with a family business consultant.

Until next time, There’s No Business Like a Family Business…. We Know!