A Family Operated Business

WSI has an international presence in 87 countries with over 1500 offices worldwide. Fortunately for me, our local office is owned by my father, Gene Bonanno.

I graduated from Mount Union College in May 2006 with a degree in Pre-Law. At that time, I was all set to head off to The University of Akron School of Law... but after one miserable summer in a local law office, I changed my mind and decided to stay at home and work for my dad.

I had been involved with WSI on a part-time basis ever since we opened the doors in June 2005. My choice to stay on full-time was a risky one 3 yrs ago... but it's paying off now. At that time, I knew it was a great opportunity. I could work in a growing industry with an ever-changing landscape and challenge myself with responsibilities most other professionals my age would not have. Most importantly, it would allow me to contribute to an organization in which I had a vested interest. The downside being... it was still a small business in start up mode and working for family generally means working more hours for less.

In the last 3 years, I have been able to work side by side with my to father continually grow our company. We have also added another family member to the staff, my brother - Justin Bonanno - who is key factor in our success.

So, you may be asking why this post? Well, I came across the following article in The New York Times: Resilient in Hard Times: The Family Business. It basically breaks down some important points as to why family owned/operated businesses are better suited for the economic crisis. It's an interesting article in general - but from my perspective, it solidifies why we just keep movin' along. As we often say here, "Failure is not an option."