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Can mothers and daughters succeed in business?

Bringing the kids into the family business is one of America's most cherished traditions. Typically, the youngster is given opportunities to learn the ropes, bond with staff and maybe take over. Until recently, that meant Papa & Son Company. But things, of course, have changed.

Women now own nearly half (48%) of all privately-held businesses in the United States, employing more than 19 million workers and generating a whopping $2.5 trillion in sales, according to the Center for Women's Business Research. Women-owned businesses are also growing twice as fast as all other private companies.

Naturally enough, then, women are turning to their daughters to travel the paths they've blazed. In fact, the Center reports that 30% of women business owners plan to pass their businesses on to their daughters, while only 11% of men owners plan to do the same.

But the mother-daughter relationship is notoriously complicated. And push-pull between parents and kids can surface anywhere. Is it a good idea to work together? Where are the boundaries and stress points?

If you're considering tapping your daughter's talent or your mom's expertise, here's an inside look at three mother-daughter teams. Their stories offer models for how mom entrepreneurs and daughters have integrated professional and personal lives. After that, check their hands-on advice about how to make a working relationship pay off.

Mother-daughter success story #1

Ginger Bailey and husband, Bob, founded Racemark International, an auto floor mat manufacturer, in 1972. Based near Saratoga Springs in upstate New York, Racemark today has 280 employees, three plants in New York, Georgia and Switzerland and lucrative contracts with makers like BMW and Toyota. Ginger, now 58, oversees finances, technology and operations. Bob, a former race car driver, tends to business development.

Daughter Emily, now 29, graduated from Lehigh University, and, after working in public relations for a few years, joined Racemark in 2001. "I was shocked to see how hard my parents worked," she says.

Besides marketing and PR, Emily took on e-commerce and product development, areas Ginger had targeted for growth but hadn't time to develop. The upshot, conceived by Emily, was an innovative fashion twist for an industry built on utility. "It was a girl thing,” says Ginger. "We took on the motorhead marketing environment."

Together, mother and daughter created GG Bailey (ggbailey.com), a Racemark subsidiary, to sell fashion car mats direct to online customers. Designs include Oriental carpet mats, a hot pink style with polka-dot borders, hip-hop mats stenciled "Pimp My Ride" and customized designs. "I loved coming up with a new opportunity," says Emily.

"The auto industry doesn't market to women very well," says Ginger. "We figured the person making decisions on mats would see it as a home extension."

Convincing Racemark's male team to retool production for such unconventional designs was a challenge. But when some of Racemark's competitors went bankrupt because of US carmakers' troubles, the guys got the message: It's smart to diversify. The fashion-forward mats are now the fastest-growing part of the business and GG Bailey is looking to expand into home and pet mats. "We're getting incredible press," says Emily, who is based in New York City. "I'm doing car mat trunk shows, like clothing (trunk shows)."

Mother-daughter success story #2

APCO Worldwide consultancy, based in Washington, D.C., concentrates on high-level strategic planning for government and business. With 450 employees, 25 offices around the world and an impressive $70 million in annual fees, the firm is growing fast, about 25% a year. In 2004, APCO completed a management buyout that named Margery Kraus, now 60, chief executive and principal shareholder. She's been there ever since its law firm beginnings in 1984.

Daughter Mara Hedgecoth, now 32 and married, began in marketing in the hospitality industry, earning an MBA at night and working for Disney World and the Baltimore convention association. In 2002, while vacationing together, Margery casually mentioned an opportunity at APCO to build an internal communications channel that would support the fast growth. She asked if Mara was interested. Mara had never before worked at the firm, even while several college friends spent summer internships there. How come? "She never asked me," says Mara. "The idea was exciting."

"It's important that my kids come into the company as individuals with something to offer," says Margery, who also harnessed son Evan's engineering talents in the mid-1990s for an online business. That, she acknowledges, was difficult, though. "He's now taken lemons and made lemonade." Unbeknownst to Mara, her mom paved the way. "Before I mentioned the job to her, I discussed it with people at APCO, with her brother and with HR. But if I didn't think she could do the job at least as well or better than others, it wouldn't be worth an offer. "In fact, Margery continues, "The first job Mara had was done so well, she was given all kinds of new responsibility. She's now a rising star."

During a year-long management buyout, Mara was on the executive committee that worked through the process and met with potential investors. Nowadays she focuses on heightening the company profile and working on ways to share information across geography and divisions. She's developed new marketing collateral and redesigned the company's Web site.

"As the daughter of the boss, the reality is that you have to do better and work harder than everyone else," says Mara. But she also sees an advantage. "I know her style and how she thinks. That makes me confident that I'll think through things in the right way. I like making my mother's life easier."

Mother-daughter success story #3

Kelly Carlin and husband, Jim, founded Complete Printing Services in Marietta, Ga., outside of Atlanta, in 1988. "We signed the papers on Halloween when Catherine was eight," says Kelly, now 50. "Jim and I began as printer brokers while we held other jobs. So instead of trick or treating, Catherine and her girlfriends marched around our dining table helping us collate jobs. It's been 24/7 ever since."

In an industry roiled by change and new technology, Complete Printing today has a staff of 32 and $5 million in annual sales. Now 25 and married, Catherine went off to study at the University of Vermont before joining the biz in 2002. "I knew I was coming back so I made sure to go to a school that was different from home," she says.

"We never pressured her to join the company," says Kelly. "And when she began, we didn't assign her a particular role. We wanted her to get hands-on experience and find out where she would be happiest." After stints in customer service, production and more, Catherine now concentrates on the crucial jobs of estimating pricing, account management and developing the online business.

Driven by deadlines, the business is stressful. When pressure mounts, Catherine and Kelly make sure to talk things out. "We recognize that our No. 1 priority is to support each other," says Catherine.

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