During interviews for our special report on family business this month (p. 26), a distributor told an ID editor that he wouldn't recommend a career in distribution for his children. In a way, you can understand his comment.

Margins are slim, competition is fierce, cost-cutting is rampant, and some of the largest distributors in the country are expanding into new product areas that may create additional problems for the niche distributors serving regional markets.

Despite all these challenges, family-owned businesses are still well represented in distribution. In fact, according to Industrial Distribution's 59th Annual Survey of Distributor Operations , nearly 71 percent of distributorships are still family owned. True, most of these companies are small (less than $10 million in sales), but there still are strong numbers of larger companies that describe themselves as family businesses. And surviving as a family business isn't easy.

The odds are slim that a family business can survive into a third generation. Those that can are doing well. The N.H. Bragg Co. in Bangor, Maine, for example, recently celebrated its 150th year as a family business and is in its fifth generation of family leadership.

Could an entrepreneur start such a family-owned company today? It seems to be happening. We've heard of several new, small distributorships being formed, primarily family owned. In many cases, they're smaller, niche companies with just a few employees, but they seem to be successful. In Ohio, we've heard of four such startups.

Why the continued strong growth in family business? There is a tremendous pride in running your own company, particularly when your son or daughter joins the team.

Those points were emphasized in a roundtable discussion of the family business as part of our special report this month. Panelist Pat McCurdy, president of Kimball-Midwest, and his three brothers run the company that their father purchased many years ago.

McCurdy points out that, 'Initially, the best aspect of working in the family business was to see the pride and joy experienced by my father having his sons involved in the company, and seeing it grow and prosper the way it has. Because of his hard work and determination, our family has enjoyed the privilege of experiencing the American Dream first-hand.'

That's a ringing endorsement of why family-owned companies are continuing to grow and prosper.

For expanded coverage of our special report on family business, go to www.inddist.com/12family.

jkeough@reedbusiness.com