GGBAILEY In The News
Can mothers and daughters succeed in business?
Bringing the kids into the family business is one of America’s most cherished traditions. Typically, the youngster is given opportunities to learn the ropes, bond with staff and maybe take over. Until recently, that meant Pap & Son Company. But things, of course, have changed.
Women now own nearly half 48% of all privately-held businesses in the United States, employing more than 19 million workers and generating a whopping $2.5 trillion in sales, according to the Center for Women’s Business Research. Women-owned businesses are also growing twice as fast as all other private companies.
Naturally enough, then, women are turning to their daughters to travel the paths they’ve blazed. In fact, the Center reports that 30% of women business owners plan to pass their businesses on to their daughters, while on 11% of men owners plan to do the same.
But the mother daughter relationship is notoriously complicated. And push pull between parents and kids can surface anywhere. Is it a good idea to work together? Where are the boundaries and stress points?
Mother-Daughter Success Story #1
“She saw an opportunity to build an entirely new business”
Ginger Bailey and husband, Bob, founded Racemark International , an auto floor mat manufacturer, in 1972. Based near Saratoga Springs in upstate New York. Racemark today has 280 employees, three plants in Georgia, New York and Switzerland and lucrative contracts with makes like BMW and Toyota, Ginger, now 58, oversees finances, technology and operations, Bob, a former race car driver, tends to business development.
Daughter Emily, now 29, graduated from Lehigh University , and, after working in public relations for a few years, joined Racemark in 2001. “I was shocked to see how hard my parents worked,” she says.
Besides marketing and PR, Emily took on E-commerce and product development, areas Ginger had targeted for growth but hadn’t time to develop. The upshot, conceived by Emily, was an innovative fashion twist for an industry built on utility. “It was a girl thing,” says Ginger. “We took on the motorhead marketing environment.”
Together, mother and daughter created GGBAILEY www.ggbailey.com , a Racemark subsidiary, to sell fashion car mast direct to online customers. Designs include Oriental carpet mats, a hot pink style with polka-dot borders, hip-hop mats stenciled, “Pimp My Ride” and customized designs. “I loved coming up with new opportunity,” says Emily.
“The auto industry doesn’t market to women very well,” says Ginger. “We figured the person making the decisions on mats would see it as a home extension.”
Convincing Racemark’s male team to retool production for such unconventional designs was a challenge. But when some of Racemark’s competitors went bankrupt because of US carmakers troubles, the guys got the message. It’s smart to diversify. The fashion forward mats are now the fastest-growing part of the business and GGBAILEY is looking to expand into home and pet mats. “We’re getting incredible press,” says Emily, who is based in New York City. “I’m doing car mat trunk shows, like clothing trunk shows.”