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Couples who share a personal relationship and a business are referred to as copreneurs. This study compared the financial intermingling behaviors of copreneurial and noncopreneurial family business owners using the 1997 and 2000 panels of the National Family Business Survey (NFBS). Copreneurs (n = 211) intermingled financial resources more often than noncopreneurs (n = 462). Business property secured loans to meet family needs while family assets and household income were used for business needs. Viewing success over time, the use of the home as collateral increased business profit while using business cash for the family decreased the feeling of success. Couples that transitioned to copreneurs status during those 3 years were less likely to intermingle than on-going or discontinued copreneurial couples. Understanding what triggers intermingling by professionals can assist in supporting copreneurs.
Key Words: copreneur, family business, financial intermingling
Developing a solid financial plan and determining if a system is reaching its financial goals requires an understanding of where a system, family or business, or both obtains its income and spends its money. In order to do that, authors recommend that there be a clear trail of funds entering (receipts) and exiting (expenses) a system (Ingram, Albright, Baldwin, & Hill, 2001; Rittenberg, Martens, & Landes, 2007; Tyson, 1994). Without a clear financial picture, whether for the family's internal financial manager, an external accountant, or a financial advisor/ counselor, accurate forecasting, decision making, and planning are difficult. Such discrepancies make it difficult for the outside professional to offer specific suggestions in helping the system, whether it is a family or a family business, improve its financial position (Burns & McCullough, 2001).
For many families within the United States, the flow of resources, both financial and nonfinancial, is tied to the family's ownership and participation in a family business. Astrachan and Shanker (2003), Heck and Stafford (2001), and Heck and Scannell Trent (1999) have all estimated that approximately 14% of households in the United States own at least one family business. This percentage represents 8 to 10 million businesses. Within that segment, 30% of these enterprises are comprised of husbands and wives in business together (Fitzgerald & Muske, 2002; Muske, Fitzgerald, & Haynes, 2003). This represents a significant number of businesses where the couple has decided...