ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Kevin Dougherty scheduled two seminars for the Feb. 24 Quality Service Contractors' Power Meeting in St. Petersburg, Fla., titled, "Dynamics of a Family Business" and "Strategies for Buying and Selling a Business." He felt there were so many similar elements in both discussions, however, that he combined them into one for the contractor attendees.

He noted that 70 percent to 80 percent of small businesses are family owned and operated - and the failure rate is higher than nonfamily businesses. "For a lot of us our business is our life," Dougherty said. "We have a lot tied up into it, some are far into debt because of it. So why would anybody want to buy a business like this?"