Gut vs. Data: The Real-World Balancing Act in Family Business Decisions

Brian Hahn

Published on: 21/10/2025

Drawing on Decades of Experience to Know When to Trust Your Instincts and When to Run The Numbers. On this week’s episode of Mixing Family and Business: What It Really Takes to Run Multiple Businesses, I sat down with Kim, Shirley, and Tom to reminisce about our earliest cars and, more importantly, to dig into the age-old challenge of balancing gut instincts with cold, hard data when making business decisions. Pulling from decades of real-world experience across several ventures, we explored just how experience, mistakes, and a few “let’s just try it” moments shaped the intuition that guides us today. In this post, I’m expanding on our lively conversation, offering my own take and further insights for anyone trying to navigate uncertain business choices.

Mixing Family and Business

Making It, Managing Chaos, and Staying Flexible: What We’ve Learned from Mixing Family and Business

Brian Hahn

Published on: 14/10/2025

On this week’s episode of Mixing Family and Business Podcast, I sat down with Kim, Tom, and Shirley to talk about those elusive moments when you feel like “you’ve made it,” how we handled some wild and unexpected business disasters over the years, and why flexibility is the secret ingredient to surviving the unpredictable. In this blog post, I’ll dive deeper into our stories, highlight the lessons we’ve learned, and offer some key takeaways about staying resilient, whether you’re running a family business or just navigating life’s ups and downs.

Mixing Family and Business

Promotions, First Jobs, and Family Business: Lessons from the Trenches

Brian Hahn

Published on: 07/10/2025

How our early work experiences shaped our approach to stand-out promotions in business. In this post, I reflect on the stories and insights from episode 59 where Kim, Shirley, Tom, and I (Brian) took a deep dive into our first jobs, the evolution of family-run businesses, and, most importantly, the highs and lows of running successful (and unsuccessful) promotions. I’ll share lessons learned from decades of working together and what it really takes to make marketing ideas and promotions work in today’s challenging environment.

Mixing Family and Business

What We Ate Then, How We Work Now: Food, Family, and Defining Roles in a Family Business

Brian Hahn

Published on: 30/09/2025

Family businesses are as much about tradition as they are about adaptability. In this week’s episode of the podcast, I sat down with Kim, Tom, and Shirley to reminisce about foods from our childhood and drew clear parallels to how family roles and responsibilities evolve in our businesses today. From homegrown vegetables and classic candies to the challenge of clearly defining who does what in a thriving family business, this post explores the journey from kitchen tables to boardrooms and how clarity, flexibility, and understanding each person’s strengths remain vital at every step.

Mixing Family and Business