Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenny Dinnen. Jenny and her team shared their story with us below:
Jenny Dinnen and Katie Rucker are twin sisters who have been running our family business, MacKenzie Corporation, for the past 15 years. MacKenzie was started by our dad in the bonus room of our house over 38 years ago and is a Customer Insights firm. Growing up we never really thought of MacKenzie as a “family business”, it was just a business that our dad ran. It wasn’t till years later (after we both went off to college and worked elsewhere) that we came back and started to ask more questions about the business. When we started hinting at taking over the family business, we heard a lot of mixed advice around families and businesses and that didn’t make it into the 2nd or 3rd generation. We felt very alone and a bit lost on how to navigate the transition. Fast forward 15 years and we have learned A LOT. We have successfully transitioned the business from our dad to us, we have learned how impactful the Family Business community is in Orange County and the country (70% of businesses in the US are Family Owned) and we are thankful for this incredible community.
Based on all this experience and wanting to give back to this amazing family business community, we recently launched a new consulting business called Next Gen Collaborative, which focuses on helping female second-generation family business owners find their voice and create their own path within the family business. We really think that by empowering these next-generation leaders we can support and empower them to lead their family businesses the way that they want to. In our small way, we are looking to change the narrative of Family Businesses here in OC and nationwide.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Taking over the family business has had its ups and downs. It is a lonely experience, but we have really leaned into the Family Business communities here in Orange County – specially being members of Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Family-Owned Businesses for the last 15 years.
Launching Next Gen Collaborative has been an interesting journey. While we have been business owners for 15 years with our legacy business, neither of us have started a new business. We have had a learn things from a start-up perspective which is fun. It has also been an interesting balancing act running two companies, while still having families at home.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Next Gen Collaborative?
At Next Gen Collaborative we are on a mission to champion and empower family businesses. We have been navigating our own family business journey for 15 years and are ready to give back and empower others on the journey. Since we have been through this process ourselves, we feel that we are uniquely qualified to coach other leaders going through this very personal journey.
We currently offer 1:1 coaching (either in 1/2 Day VIP sessions or longer-term engagements). We have created a F.A.M.I.L.Y framework that we take clients through that focuses on creating their own personal growth plan that will help them to write the next chapter of their family businesses that they are excited and proud to be a part of.
While we just launched our business officially this year, we have been very active in the Family Business communities for a number of years. We have been keynote speakers (in Grand Rapids, MI with over 100 Family businesses), panelists (at Family Business Transitions Conference, Northern Iowa University, and the Family Business Alliance Association) and well as teach on Family Business topics (at Cal State Fullerton).
It is truly our desire to change the narrative of Family Businesses in the US and be a champion for good in this space.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
We are currently working on a “Future of Family Business” project, which is tackling this exact question. There is a lot of moving pieces that will be affecting family businesses in the next few years such as:
– The Rise of Entrepreneurship – will next-gen leaders want to take over their parent’s “legacy businesses”
– Wealth Distribution to the younger generations – will companies have to sell if they don’t have a clear successor
– Trends in Retirement – will the current generation stay longer and therefore not encourage the younger generations to come into the business
– Purpose Lead Businesses – how do businesses need t shift to accommodate with what the consumers and employees want?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nextgencollaborative.com/
- Instagram: nextgencollaborative
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdinnen/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katierucker/
Image Credits
Kiley Shai Photography @Kileyshaiphotography
