Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Family Enterprise Foundation?

The Family Enterprise Foundation (FEF) was created on June 30, 2020, through the merger of the Business Families Foundation and Family Enterprise Xchange Foundation. FEF engages global thought leaders in the field of family enterprise and funds high impact research and educational programming. It is the voice for family enterprise in Canada.

FEF represents the Canadian family enterprise community and is closely associated with Family Enterprise Canada and the Family Enterprise Advisor designation program.

What is the difference between the accounts?

In the free "Fresh Start" account you will find a limited number of videos, articles, and infographics featuring interviews with enterprising family members as well as with academics and expert professionals in the field.

In the “Exploratory Path” account you will find access to one course of your choice in addition to all our multi-media education – courses, interactive actives, as well as all that is included in the "Fresh Start" account.

In the “Knowledge Enhancement” account you will have access to all online courses in our collection.

How can I sign up for a free account?

Just submit your name and email into the fields here – it takes seconds and is completely FREE!

How can I sign up for an “Exploratory Path” or “Knowledge Enhancement” account?

Just submit your name and email here and continue to check out – It’s easy and takes less than 2 minutes!

How can I sign up for a “Learning Family” account?

You can contact us at info@businessfamilies.org to start your family learning journey.

NextGen: "I’m working in my family business, but see other opportunities to develop a project or business idea, what are my options?"

Intrapreneurship is when you leverage internal resources to develop a new project within an organization – we have a program designed exactly for this! Visit our Intrapreneurial Initiative page for more information and download our ultimate guide here.

NextGen: "I’m working in my family business and I’ve been approached about ownership but I don’t know anything about it. Where can I learn more?"

We have an ownership course developed “Discovering Family Ownership” to help to tackle ownership best practices and essential knowledge. Additionally, we have an Ownership learning path that you can find here.

Education Champion: "I’ve started formalizing some family governance structures but need more resources to improve them, do you have anything to help?"

We have many tools for Family Governance Structures, on your dashboard if you click our theme “Organizing Family Governance” you will have access to all our free tools! Additionally, unit five of our course “Compass” includes more in-depth information on governance – view the course page here.

Education Champion: "My family is reluctant to join me in our learning journey, how can I begin to get them more involved?"

We have many tools for Family Governance Structures, on your dashboard if you click our theme “Achieving Generational Purpose” you will have access to all our free tools! Also – keep an eye out for our Family Matters Forum each year as we gather in person and exchange ideas and best practices.

Steward: "I’ve started thinking about my retirement, but don’t know how to start planning my transition. How can I start?"

Our ownership course “Discovering Family Ownership” will be helpful with your transition, be sure to check out module four which goes in depth about transition and opportunities looking beyond your exit from the company.

Steward: "We have been so focused on our family business, we have lost sight of our charitable intentions/philanthropic intentions, how can we start building that legacy?"

We have many tools for impact, on your dashboard, if you click our theme “Improving Impact” you will have access to all our free tools!

Woman: "I work in my family business, but also juggle other roles as a mother/daughter/sister etc. and I need advice on how to better balance my responsibilities."

We’ve developed a course that focuses on women and their many roles – learn more by visiting our course page here. Additionally – keep your eye out for women’s events that we promote and host online on our events page.

Woman: "There’s beginning to be some miscommunication and conflict in our family and no one is addressing the issue. Do you have any resources to help with the conflict?"

We’ve developed a course that focuses on communication and conflict that occurs – learn more by visiting our Communication course here.

Advisor: "I see you have a lot of information for family businesses, where can I find information for advisors?"

We recommend you explore our courses here, while they are targeted for family members, advisors can learn a lot about family dynamics and how to help families through our courses.

We are also partners with Family Enterprise Canada, which runs the Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA) program. Learn more about the program here.