Business, Too Close To Home

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In other cases, partnership agreements can be drawn up between family members. That was how Bruce Carlow, 54, took over Trio Hardware, a store his father Bernie started in 1963 in Plainview, N.Y. With 15 full- and part-time employees, Trio Hardware currently generates $1.2 million a year in revenues. The deal prevented the elder Carlow from selling the store out from under his son, by giving Bruce the right of first refusal should a sale be contemplated. In return, Bruce agreed to pay his father $2,500 a month plus 7% interest over a 10-year period and to retain him under the company's health-insurance policy. "My father has been very generous with me, and I know that he will be taken care of," says Carlow, who bought the store in 1990. "I also know that I have some security for myself and my family."

Equally important, Bernie says, was knowing that his son wanted to take over the business in the first place and keep Trio Hardware in the family. "Bruce is a fantastic merchandiser, a really good businessman. But what makes him so good at what he does is that he really enjoys running this store," Carlow says. "And when all is said and done, that's what makes all the difference in a successful family business."