𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 — 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼.

Many assume a family business just means small business (looking at you, NSW Government). And maybe once that was true. But today? That local fruit and veg shop has turned into 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 with 35+ locations and up to 30% market share - competing with Coles and Woolies.

Did you know Australia’s most famous trumpeter, 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻, runs a family business with his talented sons? (And they crushed it as keynote speakers at this year’s Family Business Association conference.)

Also: most Aldi, Woolies, and Coles home brands are made by family businesses like 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗣𝗮𝗰. Then there’s 𝗔.𝗛. 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱 (mattress royalty), 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗔𝗶𝗿 (top Aussie air con), 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗢 (those timber-looking train benches), 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 galore — all multi-generational, multi-million dollar family businesses.

I could mention a fantastic Loyalty, Rewards, and award-winning AI tech company called 𝗜𝗤 𝗚𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗼… but that might seem like shameless self-promotion. Oh wait — too late!

The point is, most of these started small — kitchen tables, backyards, garages — but what sets them apart is not size. It’s 𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀. Treating people right. Training staff to do the same. So when you walk into a family business, 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲, 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆. And who doesn’t want that?

After four days at the 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗙𝗕𝗔) 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲, I’m more convinced than ever: family businesses offer incredible scale, integrity, and heart.

The only mystery? Why FBA still feels like Australia’s best-kept secret. Maybe this little blog will be one step in fixing that.

I look forward to seeing you at the FBA 2026 conference in Hobart.

𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁:

• 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: https://familybusinessassociation.org

• 𝗙𝗕𝗔 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqpdv86Bpk8

• 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻: https://www.jamesmorrison.com/

• 𝗔𝗜 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: https://www.iqgecko.com.au/ai

• 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗜𝗤 𝗚𝗲𝗰𝗸𝗼: https://www.iqgecko.com.au/contact-form