One of my favorite things about family businesses are the unique stories, personalities and experiences that come together with a shared goal in mind.

Your family business could be in its first transition cycle, G1 to G2, or maybe you’re part of one of the great unicorns that made it past three generations and is now well into the stage of being a generative family business.

Whichever stage you and your family find yourself in, I’d encourage you to start building a digital family business archive. Here’s why. 

What is a Digital Archive?

Lots of family businesses have books or videos created for milestones, like an anniversary, a founder’s retirement or a big birthday. It’s wonderful to celebrate these, but they often capture a single moment. The goal of the archive is to continuously add videos and other artifacts that reflect on the growth and changes that take place across the company and family over many years.

Building out a digital family business archive creates something that constantly evolves and expands not only with the business but with the family members as well. 

In building a library of content and artifacts it creates a space for younger generations to fall back on and learn as they get older. They may not be interested in learning about someone or something immediately but there will come a time and building out the archive gives them the grace and opportunity to explore both the history and people that came before them both in the family and the business. 

While it can be overwhelming to think about starting this archive, taking the first step opens the door to allow this archive to expand and develop across generations as a resource center. Perhaps it just starts as a flash drive with articles from the press that the business has been featured in. Over the years it can expand to first person accounts of family members' experiences within the business, or a collection of videos that share goals, values, and memories. These are important tools that younger and future generations can reflect on as they age and as they consider entering the family business. Having a strong foundation and understanding of those who came before them can help create deeper roots within the family business.

Why it matters: A Shared Identity 

A generative family business doesn't happen by accident. It requires each generation to feel connected to something larger than themselves, including family members who aren't involved in day-to-day operations, in-laws who married into the story, and younger members who weren't there when it began.

An archive helps build that connection in three ways:

It gives every generation the same story. When G3 learns how G1 took a risk or what G2 gave up to keep the doors open, they inherit more than ownership. They inherit context. 

It turns values from slogans into stories. "We treat people fairly" means more when a family member can see the letter, the decision, or the photo that shows it in action.

It invites the next generation in. Rather than being handed a legacy, younger members can contribute to it by adding their own chapters, interviewing relatives, and deciding what's worth preserving. This helps move people from feeling obligated to invested. 

If the goal is a business and a family that can renew themselves across generations, a shared identity is the foundation, and the archive is one of the best tools for building it.

How to start

There's never a perfect time to start, but I would encourage everyone to start sooner rather than later. Stories live in people's memories, and memories don't last forever.

Here are a few ideas to get you started: 

Record a conversation. Sit down with the eldest family member or longest-tenured employee and ask how it all began. 

Gather what already exists. Photos, old product samples, letters, ads, newspaper clippings, and early logos are probably in drawers and basements right now.

Label as you go. Write down who, what, when, and where. Context is so important!

Assign a steward. Choose someone, ideally from the next generation, to own the project or create a committee of family members that will work together. 

Start in one place. A shared folder is fine. You can build something more polished later.

If you have questions about starting a Family Business Archive. Feel free to reach out to Lasting Legacies.