"If this is nepotism, " Alec Van Winkle recalls thinking when he joined his father's ad agency, "then it sucks."

Mystie Buice says that when the bathrooms need cleaning in the talent agency started by her mother Gail Houghton, she is often the one who picks up the scrub brush. "Why am I cleaning the toilets? Because it's my mom's company and her bathrooms. I'm the daughter."

There are no statistics either nationally or locally that tally up the number of production companies, ad agencies, or service firms that are run by families. Whether it is father-son, mother-daughter, husband-wife or any other combination the communications industry seems to be a good fit for family. Creativity, after all, tends to run in families, and often, children are included in the family business from an early age.

"Whenever my father had a spot that required children, I was always on set and then was included in casting sessions, " says Chad Watkins, who know runs Synergy Films with his father, George. "I was cast a lot and making money at an early age. I was attracted to it and the teamwork atmosphere."

Still, for every Pringle Dixon Pringle, where ad guy Jim Pringle and PR wonder Jan Pringle worked together successfully for years, there is an Aydlotte & Cartwright where the agency went up in smoke amidst the divorce proceedings of Bill Aydlotte & Jeane Cartwright. Or to further muddle the issue, you have Sarah Cotton and Ron Scharbo who continue working together even after their divorce.

About one-third of all family-owned businesses survive into the second generation and 15 percent make it into a third generation. "Business Week, " in a 2000 article, lists several advantages to family-owned businesses, including: a sense of purpose and tradition, a relationship-oriented, non-corporate environment, and a high degree of family unity. A family business, the article states, "has a sense of stability about it that is obvious to customers, vendors, and potential investors."

All interviewed say there are some downsides but, overall, the benefits well outweigh any problems. Even cleaning the bathrooms? Buice adds that while she does, at times, clean Houghton Talent's commodes, she "also had it pretty easy when I had to call up and say I couldn't come in because my child was sick because it was the owner's grandchild."

Interestingly, none of the individuals interviewed by Oz Magazine intended to join the family business, and the pairings came almost by accident.

Aspirin and Maalox

Alec Van Winkle, in fact, wasn't even happy that his father left TuckerWayne to open his own shop, Van Winkle & Associates. "I was in college and he came up to tell me the news, " Alec recalls. "My first thought was I hoped he still would have enough money to pay for tuition!"

Still, like Chad Watkins, young Alec liked what he saw of his father's work while he was growing up. " My dad spent a lot of time in the Caribbean developing business there and later he worked with Goody's headache remedy and did a lot of sports marketing. And I remember sitting around Doppler Studios hanging out and playing guitars. We took clients on vacations with us. I loved the relationships." It was only after Alec, 40, started working at the agency did he see, as Paul Harvey would say, "The rest of the story." "I later found his upper right hand drawer, which was filled with aspirin, Maalox and all the other drugs you take for head and stomach."

Upon graduation, his father, Fritz, and a client "swapped sons". "Alec wanted to work on the client-side and I had a client whose son was interested in being in the ad business, " Fritz remembers. "We didn't think it was a good idea for our sons to work with us, so we swapped. Alec went for a year with my client and I took his son and it worked out fine. I'll admit I was thrilled that Alec even wanted to get into this crazy business."

A few years later, Alec decided to get his MBA, but financial considerations brought him from New York back home. He and his father agreed he could work at the agency and go to school at night. Alec had no intention of staying once he got his degree. But as time passed, it was obvious he had found his niche.

Still there was some hesitation about his joining. His mother, for one, was opposed. "She had seen a lot of family businesses get into bad situations and she didn't want any negativity around the family, " Alec recalls.

For his part, Fritz doesn't consider his agency a "family business", but concedes, "in the ad business, it generally doesn't work out too well. It just happened to work out here."

Alec went straight to work, attending meetings and having the same frustrations. "He told me I would have unlimited use of the corporate jet, " Alec says laughing. "Of course, there was no jet. But I had to prove myself both with clients and the staff. He gave me enough rope to hang myself." Fritz admits to the last part. "I just started turning more and more responsibility over to him. It's amazing what kids can do when you give them a shot. I was lucky."

A few years back, father and son switched jobs and Alec assumed the role of agency head. "It came to a point where he was ready and I didn't want to stand in his way. I don't look over his shoulder. I think that's when things don't work out when you second-guess or still control the purse strings. I made a big decision that I was going to let him do it."

The $14 million agency seems to be on a proper footing. "People don't realize it but it's true, " says Alex. "It's a blessing to work with your Dad or mother or anyone else in your family. It's a real blessing."

Tough Conversations

Chad Watkins agrees that working with his father, well-known director George Watkins, is great but admits it took some adjustments. "I had started freelancing so when I joined him in 2000, I didn't have any fears about not being worthy of the job. But as we got farther along, there were some learning curves that I didn't know. I didn't know the procedures for things. I worked as a lowly P.A. and got my ass kicked. I'm sure there were some rumblings that I didn't know things and others would say stuff like, No, Chad, this is how it works, you must learn this part of the business as well.' But they also knew I was George's kid."

The two had some "tough conversations, for sure, " Chad says. "But, the thing is, I always know that it's a safe place when talking to him. We can be forceful and tough. We'd have different visions or I'd have too many ideas."

George says that Chad's role did evolve and, "eventually we thought why not.?' But, I have to admit that, as a father, I had a lot of trepidation. I knew what he was going into and the challenges he would face. I really had mixed emotions."

George says that his parental worries eventually gave way to total pride and support. "We were in an editing session and he came at the creative process from a whole different perspective. It was like all of a sudden I knew that he had it. He could mentally see the puzzle from beginning to end. He understood what it was all about and you really can't teach that."

But while George discovered Chad's talents, both admit that there were tough patches. So tough that they sought business guidance. "We were flying by the seat of our pants on how to be at work and home and we proactively decided to get some coaching for our roles and how to handle each other."

Psychological testing revealed that the two were on opposite sides of the personality spectrum, approaching issues from polar opposite viewpoints. "It was an eye-opener, " George admits. "We are totally different in our natural instincts but that turns out to be perfect for a partnership. It also grounded us and gave us bigger insights into each other. It made it easier to understand how the other thinks and gave us more respect for the other's reactions."

And like Fritz Van Winkle, George has learned to let Chad run his own race. "I don't want to second-guess him but, as a parent, I want to say Let me take the wheel and steer this thing so that we can survive.' You want to take control again. But we're relaxing into our roles and it's getting more fun."

Growing Up in the Business

Darryl Thorpe of Graphic Press International and his partner Jack Hildreth, Sr. operate "nepotism central, " Thorpe says. "The company started out in 1983 as a color separating business ("except we didn't have a color separator, " he says. "We had smoke and mirrors"). Their wives worked in the business as well as they grew up, so did Darryl's son Graham and Hildreth's three sons, Jack Jr., Jeff and Steve. "We all worked in the business the kids and our wives, well our ex-wives." Did business issues carry over to marital issues? "Maybe, " Thorpe says, then adds, "I don't think so."

Even so, Thorpe says that the four sons all work together without any rivalry or ganging up on each other. "People expect them to goof off but they work harder than anyone else here, " he says. "It's also great that each of the boys has taken on their own world. So we have a split of talent with each boy in charge of his thing. So there's been no jealously, no ugliness."

Lots of Talent: Mother and Daughter

Also reporting peaceful relations are Mystie Buice and Gail Houghton of Houghton Talent. Houghton founded the talent agency in 1990 and Mystie helped out in emergencies, such as answering phones if an employee was sick. "I didn't want to work there, " Mystie, who acts as agency director. "I wanted to stay at home with my kids. But I started temping there and fell in love with the business."

Her mother recalls the day it all changed. "Mystie was helping out and she mentioned she could put out some calls out to cast a Delta commercial. She selected a talent that no one else had thought of. Not only did the talent she selected get the job, but the next day Mystie called from home to find out the results. I knew she couldn't walk away from the business. I told her she was hooked."

Buice says that the two haven't had conflicts mainly because Gail "doesn't micro-manage and we make our decisions, good or bad." In fact, Mystie likes for her mother to still be ultimately in charge. "I feel like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. If things reach a point, I can always go, "Well I think you better go talk to Gail!"

For Gail's part, she says "The child can run it and I love having her here. She comes to me and we talk it out. We have so little of butting heads you wouldn't believe." The only negative side is that some of the mother-daughter time the two had has been forfeited. "We used to take trips together just for fun. But we stopped doing that because it was hard for both of us to be away at the same time. But we're getting back to that. The whole family's going to Hawaii soon."

Can the family make it to three generations? Mystie has a 17-year-old daughter who is a "natural, " she says. "I don't want to pressure her but I tell her that because of her it can stay a family business." The daughter's reply, "Mom, you're Plan B."

Nothing Good Comes Easy

While the parent-child relationship has its hazards, so do couples working together. Shelley and Brian Gurley run Wide Open Pictures. Shelly is the executive producer and Brian, the director. Married for three years, Shelley joined Brian shortly after their wedding.

"When we're on a shoot, it's total business and we just kick into our roles, " she says. "It's the nature of the business." Still it was easier when they had an office as opposed to their current situation of running the business out of a home office. "Now we're together 24-7. Before one or the other may or may not be at work."

The couple had to establish a "stopping place" in order to separate work from their personal lives, she said. "It's a bit fuzzy. There are rewards for bringing work into your personal space because you can talk about it and bounce ideas off each other. But you still have to find that personal time as well and not talk about business. It's tough."

Equally challenging is when partners bring the marriage into work. "You always wonder about if you've had a fight whether you can leave that at the door as well, " she says. "Every day can potentially be a bump in the road."

The dynamics between partners change and Shelley advises couples to "make sure to love who you are before you go into the partnership. And make sure your partner knows how much you put into the project."

As with marriages, partners in a business can take the other for granted. She says it's especially difficult in situations where one partner is the recognized boss and talent, such as a director. "Everyone always gives the credit to the director and gives him all the attention. But the second person is helping pull off the job as well. It works itself out over time, but sometimes in business there is a food chain and it's not fun being at the bottom."

At times, it is "exasperating trying to separate the business relationship from being a spouse, " she says. "If you aren't growing as individuals, personally and professionally, then there could be trouble. I recommend both partners freelance or do something else that validates them as individuals."

Shelley says her parents ran a family business but when she and Brian announced a similar goal, "people just shook their heads and strongly advised us not to. But I think it's really cool. My parents did too."

Brian Gurley has some advice for spouses thinking of working together: "Don't do it!"

It seems "like a good idea but it really puts a strain on your personal relationship. It's hard to separate business from your marriage. If something is sideways in business it carries over to the home and vice versa. It's very difficult to separate the two, " he says.

He agrees that it is more difficult when one partner is the "star". It's a familiar story it's hard being Mrs. Tom Hanks or Mrs. Bill Clinton just ask Hillary. "We sell me as a commodity Brian Gurley, director. My name is all over the place. The role that Shelley's been in hasn't been all that creative. And, I've not let her do things her way which is perfectly fine. I've been too controlling and there has been a lot of resentment built up."

But there is a happy story. The couple experienced some "very, very big downturns in our personal relationship, but we're recovering and I expect a full and bright recovery, " he says. "We're working on all the issues and facing them one by one. We will work this out."

Through counseling they have been able to put their business and personal relationships back on track. They are "dating" and finding true time together away from the business. They also are learning to pursue their own personal interests camping for Shelley, skiing for Brian as well as combined interests, like boating. Shelley's role is being redefined to give her more control, creativity and respect.

They are committed to making both parts work. "We have friends of ours of who worked together in the music business, and after he fired his wife three times in one month, she figured it wasn't worth it, " Brian says with a laugh. "But we really want it to work. There's something to be said for someone who can really be your confidant, who really has the same goals as you. We're working together. We have the same agenda and we really have each other's best interests at heart. So in some ways, it's been great. And, it will remain great."

Despite the potential pitfalls, Shelley says working with Brian is both fun and rewarding. "We're both working toward something and we both know how to get the best work out of each other. And, that's what it's all about doing the best work for the clients."

Count Your Blessings

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect is seeing how someone you love shines in a business you love. "At the end of the day, " says George Watkins. "I'm very grateful and it's very gratifying to see Chad grow as a partner. He's growing by leaps and bounds and he's become an advocate for a lot of folks. He's able to guide the minefields but he's also very considerate of everyone on the shoot, from the talent to craft services." Chad, for his part, returns the compliments. "My dad is so well respected and just seeing how he treats clients and people on the set is inspiring. The production is not the means to the end product. The production is the product as well. It's been the best learning experience even if my Mom thinks we talk business to much."

Adds Fritz Van Winkle, "It really is a joy to have your son in the same business as you working in your business. It's a joy it really is."