BE TI G BE TIN A TN T THE O DS DD DDS Family-owned firms that help create hospitality spaces share their survival skills and growth strategies. BY MAT THEW HALL WHEN IT COMES TO THE number and longevity of family-owned businesses in the U.S., the statistics are startling and sobering, respectively. On the surprising side: family-owned or family-controlled businesses account for more than 90 percent of all American companies, the U.S. Small Business Administration estimates. But when it comes to the longevity of such entities, the picture is decidedly bleaker: the average life span of a family firm is 24 years, with just 30 percent of all such business making it to a second generation and only half of those making it to a third, according to statistics compiled by Baylor University’s Institute for Family Business. The business community that designs and outfits hospitality spaces includes its fair share of family-owned firms. And within that universe are several businesses that have survived beyond the 24-year age span typical of such companies. So, how have those enterprises beaten the odds and stayed in business? Boutique Design interviewed a sampling of such firms to find out. 40 boutiquedesign.com JUNE 2013http://www.boutiquedesign.com