He has reason to be proud. The odds threaten to grow even longer.
Families are ever less nuclear.
And the newest frontiers, such as the Internet, look more alluring and more lucrative to young people than following in their parents' footsteps. Mr. Paisner devoted more than a decade to the task. He nurtured his sons' commitment to ScrubaDub, held down family tensions and even restructured the company's governance to enhance its long-term chances of surviving a family conflict. Scrubadub today owns nine auto-wash outlets, some with gas stations and convenience stores. In this era of rollups, Mr. Paisner might easily have sold ScrubaDub to outsiders.