NEW YORK—Investing in technology, prioritizing trust and consistently focusing on the health of the business are some of the opportunities that small business owners say are important to them in the latest PwC Global Family Business Survey, which offers a range of helpful tips for those running their own business. Trust, in particular, is a vital “competitive advantage” that requires strategy and diligence to build, PwC’s survey says. In the U.S., 78 percent of family businesses say they believe it’s essential for customers to trust their companies. But only 52 percent believe their customers fully trust them and just 44 percent believe their employees do. 

One critical way family businesses can address this gap is to focus on sharing their purpose story internally and externally and to build their digital capabilities, including cybersecurity.

Eighty-six percent of those surveyed say they expect to see growth over the next two years. Thirty-nine percent believe they have strong digital capabilities.

PwC offers a free PDF download of its 11th Global Family Business report and also offers an audio version here.