DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire Center for Family Business will host a panel discussion of family business owners and experts Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2011, who will talk about some of the most common mistakes made by family businesses and how to avoid them.

"Common Mistakes Made by Family Businesses and How to Avoid Them" will be held at The Yard Restaurant, 1211 South Mammoth Road, Manchester. The event begins at 8 a.m. with a continental breakfast, with the program following at 8:30 a.m. The program ends at noon, followed by lunch and networking.

The program will look at a number of common mistakes made by family businesses, including not having a succession plan and set departure date, lack of communication, providing employment for all family members, promoting family without having rules in place, not setting clear expectations, not keeping an eye on the cash, partnership agreements, interstate commerce pitfalls, not asking the next generation for input, and not seeking help.

To register or become a member of the Center for Family Business, call Barbara Draper at 603-862-1107, or barbara.draper@unh.edu. For first-time attendees, the cost is $99 per person and $250 per company for nonmembers.

The Center for Family Business, under the UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics and the UNH Graduate School, is sponsored by Mass Mutual Financial Group; Moitoza Consulting; Baker Newman & Noyes; Pierce Atwood; Management Planning, Inc.; and Optima Bank and Trust. It is a membership program to provide owners and managers of entrepreneurial businesses with an opportunity to exchange ideas and information and to discuss business challenges, concerns, and solutions. For more information, visit http://www.familybusiness.unh.edu/.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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