Witcha Danaisuphachok, 18 works at his families business Jasmine Thai as a server.

Being an integral part of his family’s business is priceless, says Marco Andretti, an IRL racer who finished second in the Indianapolis 500 when he was only 19 years old. Andretti said he can’t imagine being in the racing business without his legendary grandfather Mario Andretti, one of the most famous race car drivers of all time.

“The best thing is that he’s there to bounce off ideas and questions,” said Andretti, now 21. “I know that I’m getting obviously the best advice a person can get.”

He said is also indebted to his father, Michael, who is ranked third place for all-time victories in championship car racing and is also co-owner of Andretti Green Racing, the IRL team that Marco races for.

The Andrettis may be unusual in the racing world, but they aren’t in the business world. Andretti Green is among millions of successful American family businesses. And the Andrettis are involved in several other businesses outside of Indiana, including a winery, driving school and indoor go-karting.

Family firms in America comprise about 80 percent of all businesses, contribute 64 percent of the Gross National Product, and employ 62 percent of the national workforce, according to a 2003 “Family Business Review” study.

Nationally recognizable family-owned businesses include L.L. Bean, Wal-Mart, Simon Property Group and Meijer.

More than 10.7 million businesses are owned by families in the United States, said Christopher Eckrich, a Fort-Wayne-based consultant for family businesses nationwide.

Mariyam Kahn, 23, is president of one of them. Her Plainfield-based family business, Career Zones, provides peer tutoring. She’s been a tutor since high school and helped open the business three years ago.

“The commitment level is higher in a family business because we want to see this business succeed and we want it to succeed with our help,” she said.

Many family businesses prosper.

“There’s been a lot of research out there that family businesses outperform public companies,” said Eckrich, whose name may sound familiar because his great grandfather founded the hotdog empire, which was sold in the 1970s to Beatrice Foods.

“Because of my interest in family business, I would’ve loved to have seen if there could’ve been a way to keep it in family hands, but I was a young person at the time,” he said.

“The senior members of the family made that decision, and I’m sure they made the best decision for their family at the time.”

Many families operate much smaller businesses, including the Khans, whose business is at 212 E. Main St., Plainfield; and the Danaisuphachoks who own the Jasmine Thai Restaurant, 4825 E. 96th St.

Witcha Danaisuphachok, a senior at Carmel High School, is a server at Jasmine Thai. His family has owned the business for about five years. He agrees with Andretti that a family business offers support and wants you to succeed. He doesn’t have to follow strict rules and policies set by strangers.

“You have more freedom and it’s a lot more flexible if you want to take the day off or do something like that,” said the 18-year-old.

Khan said she enjoys working with those she trusts most. She works with her parents and her sisters, Shejea a junior at IUPUI; and Arishaa, a senior at Plainfield High School.

“The best thing about working in a family business is they know you as a person and know what you are capable of,” said Khan. “They know your personality and are able to assign tasks and duties knowing that it will get done.”

The Khans work to make their business supportive and friendly – just like a family – to their other employees, she said. Many are bright high school students working as tutors. The business has family-like picnics that bring students, staff and tutors together for games and food. The business also offers some free community programs to senior citizens and middle school kids preparing for exams.

But there are special challenges in family work, too. Eckrich said that family members in business together need to be mindful to separate personal and professional relationships.

Too often, a family member takes criticism personally when it comes from a relative at work. “You have to be aware of what hat you’re wearing, business or non-business,” said Eckrich.

Andretti said he welcomes his dad’s racing evaluations.

“Besides myself, my father is my toughest critic, but that pulls the best out me for sure…He’s very good at handling me because he used to be a driver. He’ll never say: ‘I told you so,’ which is the worst thing I hate to hear from anybody.”

Khan said it’s often hard to separate her family’s personal life from their business life.

“There have been times when one of us sisters brings up a problem or issue at the dinner table. We argue a little, and then our parents step in and find a solution for it. Family business has definitely been a learning and a growing experience for us.”

Three years into the business, if a problem arises or a task doesn’t get done, she and her sisters have learned to look for the reason why, instead of pointing fingers at one another.

The Khans migrated from Pakistan in 1995. Khan’s father still owns one of the most successful tutoring businesses in Karachi, Pakistan, and he used his experience and knowledge in helping establish the Plainfield tutoring business, she said.

Finding family time away from business is always a challenge.

“It is harder to go on family trips and vacations because one or two of us may have to stay back to oversee the business,” Khan said.

Does Marco and Michael’s father-son relationship suffer when Marco loses a race?

“I’m sure we’re pretty unique the way we are off the track. I think the majority of the conversations are business, which is kind of how we both like to live our lives,” said Andretti.

Witcha realizes that he’s given flexibility at work, but also expected to step up to help the business more whenever he’s needed. For example, he’s the one who has to work if a non-family member gets sick or is called away for an emergency.

He also is held to a higher standard by his relatives: “They have more control over me than the (other) employees.

Like many family businesses, Peter Eckrich and Sons, founded in 1894, faced complex changes as it grew throughout the years. For example, Peter had 16 children, and the company had to figure out how to involve them in the business.

Eckrich said it’s important to develop non-family leadership within a business, and adjust as the business grows to include more family members, such as siblings and cousins.

“The biggest challenges are getting everybody aligned around a common vision – what we are really trying to accomplish together,” Eckrich said, adding that it’s also vital to communicate clearly about vision goals and how to accomplish them.

“Then, it’s getting everybody to understand their roles and responsibilities. And those are big goals, especially as a family grows.”

Working in a family business can also be a great way for young people headed toward college to focus on what is really important to their long-term success.

Seeing how hard they work, Witcha said he’s learned to respect his family more. Seeing their success, he said he’s more likely to listen to them and obey them than peers who don’t work with their parents.

Beyond the job skills and work ethic, kid employees learn more about their own family.

“Working in the business allows young people to understand what the family stands for, how many people the family has an impact on and the kind of challenges the family has in keeping its business strong,” said Eckrich.

“I think that awareness and that experience is really special.”

Still, he always recommends that young people work in a different business for part of their career after college or high school.

“When you come back, you’ll have a greater appreciation for how the world functions outside of the business, and hopefully you’ve learned a few things to be able to really add value to your family’s enterprise.”

Witcha plans to go to college to figure out what he wants to do in life. But he thinks he’s likely to open his own restaurant someday. He likes being around people and doesn’t want an office job.

Economic growth definitely comes from a lot of families like the Andrettis, Danaisuphachoks and the Khans.

“If you think about where a lot of the jobs have come in this country over the last 15 years or so, family enterprises had a huge impact on creating jobs for people in this country,” Eckrich said.

For example, Career Zones has plans for growing. They want to open three more branches in different parts of Indianapolis and then franchise by 2010. Khan just graduated with a degree in human resources, business management and Spanish from IUPUI and plans to pursue an MBA next.

What is the secret to the success of these family businesses.

Witcha said it’s simple: working hard, understanding and accepting one another.

“I’ve made mistakes, but most of the time my parents say, ‘Just try your best next time. The past is the past, and take a better look at it so you won’t make the mistake again.’”

Marco agreed. He recalled a moment of revelation during his early years of racing.

“I don’t think in the beginning I enjoyed it as much. I basically raced for the fear of losing rather than the joy of winning.”

He was burnt out: “I put so much pressure on myself, and I was feeling so much outside pressure. I took a couple steps back and I said I can’t do this right now. I need to think to myself.”

His father gave him space, never pushed his son.

But, within days, Andretti was drawn back to racing and decided he would race because he loved it, not because he couldn’t fail.

“I’m not going to feel outside pressure to win races. I’m going to just do it for myself and then have fun with it,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how big the footsteps are of my teammates or my father or grandfather because I have all the trust in the world in myself.”

And like Khan and Witcha, Andretti has always known that his family wanted the best for him.

“Of course my family would help me in whichever way I wanted to go, even if I wasn’t a race car driver, which is definitely the coolest thing about my family.”