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Family-owned businesses face unique challenges

Dr. Brad Bechtold, Executive Director of the Kim S. Miller Family Business Institute of South Carolina at Anderson University in Anderson, S.C.
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Dr. Brad Bechtold, Executive Director of the Kim S. Miller Family Business Institute of South Carolina at Anderson University in Anderson, S.C.

99% of the companies in our state are small businesses that create almost half of the jobs. And many of these companies are family owned. For the past five years, our next guest’s organization has been busy counseling these family business owners through their own unique set of challenges. Mike Switzer interviews Dr. Brad Bechtold, Executive Director of the Kim S. Miller Family Business Institute of South Carolina at Anderson University in Anderson, S.C.

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After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.