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Family businesses often don’t reach the third generation, due to lack of passion or entrepreneurial skills by that point. But three Santa Clarita-based businesses – all with a national and global reach – have arrived at the third generation of family employees or are well on their way to doing so.

Pets are a big priority for families in Santa Clarita, said John Douglas, co-owner of Happy Pets Veterinary Center.

A testament to how much people view their pets as family members, Douglas said, is that none of the veterinary centers locally have closed for economic reasons. Only one or two closed because someone passed away. All of the centers managed to survive and some have even managed to thrive in this economy.

When you purchase a red velvet cupcake at Kupcake Kitchen, know that owner Lisa Jurado’s entire family was involved in making it for you.

In 2010, when the public relations specialist turned her baking hobby into a full storefront business on Bouquet Canyon Road, Jurado enlisted her then-unemployed husband and her parents, in-laws and children to help with the bakery.

While many enjoy a glass of wine with their meal, wine aficionados advocate wine pairings with specific foods and it’s up to restaurants to select varietals that will please diners and pair well with the menu offerings.

 One-third of all California restaurants are located in Los Angeles County, according to the California Restaurant Association, putting more pressure on existing restaurants than in other areas of the country to compete.

One of the ways restaurants stay healthy is by ensuring an ongoing supply of fresh foods, produce and ingredients to place their meals – and their restaurants – on the “most favored” list of places for patrons to eat.

It’s becoming less common for lawyers to do it all, as the law business becomes more and more specialized each year.

Stephen C. Yeazell, a law professor at UCLA, said decades ago the legal field was mostly comprised of general sole practitioners. The legal specialization trend started about 20 to 30 years ago and he sees no reason for the trend to reverse anytime soon, as laws become more and more complex for each area and law schools continue to allow you to specialize your law school education through electives and extracurriculars.

As a result of the tanking economy, some who were laid off decided to take the opportunity to pursue their ideas for products, services and small businesses.

For many, these ventures would be their first foray into the business and management world.

“These people are in the ideas stage without the experience of an entrepreneur,” said Connie Sparks, a business consultant who also runs workshops within the Small Business Development Center, based at College of the Canyons.

The Santa Clarita Valley is a community with a vision; a pro-business community that advocates and plans for economic development. And with all that activity comes growing pains.

“In the Santa Clarita Valley, we have excellent representation from business banks,” said Jonas Peterson, CEO and president of the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation. “However, we are typically behind the curve in venture capital and non-traditional financing.”

Many business people will tell you the product or idea is only a fraction of what matters – the execution and marketing of the service will make or break your venture. Four Santa Clarita-based entrepreneurs shared their experiences in successfully building a business around their idea for a new product.

Just as every business came to realize the necessity of having an online presence via a company website, once again, the rules of the game are changing.

A Nielsen survey published in November 2011 showed that 43 percent of all U.S. mobile phone subscribers own a smartphone with a powerful operating system. While that’s not quite yet a majority, the numbers are a powerful reminder of how quickly the technology landscape is changing.

Marlee Laufer, senior vice president of marketing and communications with Newhall Land Development, describes the innovative branding campaign behind “Awesometown.”

Campaign Concept:

Awesometown truly reflected the feelings and even the words of local residents.

Objective:

In 2010, we were looking to reinvigorate the strong Valencia brand and incorporate something unique and different as we did it. We had a limited budget and wanted to use social media as a large part of our campaign, along with traditional media.

In a nutshell, branding is basically creating a promise to your customers and then delivering on it. In this ever growing marketplace of competitors, successful companies and organizations have branded their product and figured out how to remain consistent, true to their mission and grow based on creating value for their clients.