Portraits of the Family Business: Marotta Dental Lab and Ragle Dental Lab

Add family dynamics to the day-to-day stressors of running a business, and you'd think it would spell disaster. But on the contrary: family businesses are thriving in the United States. These companies produce half of the U.S. gross national product, employ 50% of the American workforce and comprise one-third of Fortune 500 firms.*

In our field, almost half of dental laboratory owners work with members of their families and agree that, despite the various challenges, there are advantages they just wouldn't trade. "The best part is knowing you can depend on each other because these are people you've known your whole life. Everyone has a high stake in the business and is going to put it first; you just can't necessarily know that about someone from outside the family," says Janine Mahery, vice president of Pro Dental Arts, Titusville, Florida, whose mother and sister work in the laboratory founded by her husband, Mike.

If family members have a...