Iowa State’s College of Business will help host a forum to better the family businesses across the state of Iowa.

The Small Business Development Center, a branch of ISU’s College of Business, will hold the Iowa Family Business Forum Thursday.

“The forum is a great chance for family business owners to get together and talk to each other,” said Lars Peterson, director of the Small Business Development Center.

The Small Business Development Center also manages 16 additional centers throughout the state and provides counseling for business owners and managers.

“Our goal is to better the Iowa family business and keep it strong and competitive,” Peterson said.

This year’s program will be accented by a presentation from Paul and Susan Glaser, nationally recognized authorities on team building and collaborative problem solving.

Peterson said the Glasers will answer questions regarding the concerns of family business owners.

The couple has been profiled in magazines such as Business Week, Nation’s Business and Success Magazine for its ideas on how to deal with management and cooperation issues in the family business, he said.

“It’s good for the business owners and managers to get together and share opinions and use each other as resources,” Peterson said.

He estimated about 60 people will attend the forum.

Among those people attending will be a representative from one of the event’s sponsors, McGlaudrey & Pullen LLP of Des Moines.

“These presentations are always a good way to bring back information to help our company,” said Craig Damos, partner in charge at McGlaudrey & Pullen LLP.

Damos said he and his company sponsor the event on a regular basis.

“Sometimes we have speakers; other times we have consultants,” he said.

The program costs $249 and usually is attended by Iowa family business owners, Peterson said.

“As of yet, no [ISU students] have attended,” he said. “The registration fee is a bit steep for the average college student.”

Peterson said a special arrangement could be made in the future if students wanted to participate in the event.

“If we knew students were interested, we would be interested in creating scholarships,” he said.

The event will be held at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines from 12:30 to 5 p.m. and is sponsored by ISU, McGlaudrey & Pullen LLP, MassMutual and Norwest Banks.