As the Managing Director of CBro Development, a real estate management and development company, I deal daily with the challenge of managing our identity and building business relationships in our community. CBro Development originally started as a family run grocery store business. My experience as a member of my family, working in the grocery business as a teenager and participating in weekly dinner table conversations with my grandparents every Sunday, equipped me with some guiding principles that shaped my career and outlook, and which would apply to any fledgling business or entrepreneur. The stories my grandpa shared inevitably stressed a few simple values - work hard, provide your customers with the best service possible, and offer your customers a quality product that you can stand behind. Examples from their experience, a few of which are shared below, demonstrate how essential these principles are to building strong relations within the community. Although the family business is no longer grocery stores, but real estate management and development, the good will and relationships they built in the initial business still persist today.

In 1919, my great-grandfather, then recently arrived from Italy, opened Sanitary Meat Market in Rockford, Illinois. Like so many other immigrants, he came to this country with nothing more than a suitcase full of belongings and set out to make a new life for himself and his family. He did what he needed to succeed and traded on the few things he knew from his past life that would translate into his new country. He sold a quality product that he believed in and stood behind. But he did more than just sell meat. He strove to provide his customers with the best service possible. By doing so his customers became loyal friends rather than just customers.

These values, which allowed my great-grandfather to establish a strong presence in the community, were instilled in his children. When my grandfather returned from World War II, he saw the opportunity to expand the meat market into a full service grocery store, Hilander Foods. Working alongside his brothers, he grew the business by sticking to the simple values held by their father; work hard, sell a quality product, and above all provide your customer with the best service and experience possible. Working in the grocery stores growing up, I saw all of this first hand. Still, to this day, I have people come up to me and tell me stories about little things my grandpa or uncles did that they remember and appreciate. For example, my grandpa would often help elderly customers put their coats on or would wheel their groceries to the car for them. These may seem like simple deeds, but the customers appreciated them and came back to the grocery stores because of them. My grandfather knew that by talking to Mrs. Smith on the way to the car, he learned a little more about her and her family and she learned about his. They developed a friendship and the next time Mrs. Smith ran out of milk, she was more likely to stop by the Hilander and say hi to Tony. Through tactics like this, the one grocery store eventually grew and expanded to six different locations in the Rockford area. Over the next several decades, my grandfather and his brothers grew the grocery store franchise and eventually sold the business to Kroger Foods.

Not only did they treat customers well, they realized the need to give back to the community that supported them. They instituted several "thank you" services, ranging from the inexpensive cookie club (where each child under 12 would receive a free cookie when he or she went to the bakery counter) to the much larger computer for schools campaign. They started the computer for schools campaign in the late 1980s. When schools turned in a certain dollar amount in grocery receipts, Hilander would provide the school with a computer. The majority of the area schools participated. This program was the catalyst for many school computer labs. My grandfather and his brothers did not dream up elaborate marketing schemes, nor did they develop these programs to gain "market share." They did this because they felt that the right thing to do was to show your customers that you appreciate their business and thank them for it. They were rewarded for it with a loyal customer following.

Hilander Foods employed hundreds of people when my family ran it. If they were running it today, no doubt consultants, PR staff, and professional coaches would be trying to create mission statements to fine-tuning a corporate image. Of course, my grandfather and uncles would scoff at this entire notion. A corporate image to these old timers is nothing more that delivering a great product, with the character to stand behind it. The rest of success boils down to hard work, persistence, and attention to detail.

Today, the focus of the family business has shifted from grocery stores to real estate development and management. Even in the slumping economy, we are taking on new projects and endeavors. At the beginning of July, we opened a 66,000 square foot office building, the first building in our new mixeduse development. We now employee a team of professionals including a public relations firm, accountants, and attorneys to counsel the business. I am of a generation that looks for immediate metrics to gauge the business’ success, and readily admit that I sometimes tend to over-analyze and financial model projects. I find myself struggling with the same questions this article addresses - what is our family’s businesses image today? How do I take what has worked so well in the past and translate it into today’s business world? Whenever I get too wrapped up in these activities and questions, I remind myself of what made my grandpa and uncles successful business owners, hard work, persistence, a quality product, and great service. If I take a step back, I realize that success doesn’t always come overnight, but with the focus on customer service, a good work ethic and a little luck, it will come.

Marifran Georgis is the managing director of CBro Development, Ltd., a firm, based in Rockford, Ill., that manages and develops commercial, retail and residential properties. Georgis graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and received her Juris Doctorate degree from St. Louise University. Prior to joining CBro Development, Georigis worked as an attorney in private practice