Supportive family featuring Bill Arrigoni with Supportive Living Solutions, LLC

Written by John P. Palen for Minnesota Business Magazine July 2013

Bill Arrigoni was 13 years old when his future purpose came calling. His mother, Virginia, had just completed treatment for alcoholism. Seeing the need for addicts to have continuing care and more time in a safe environment, Virginia decided to turn her own home in St. Paul into a safe place for people to continue their chemical dependency recovery.

Arrigoni didn't know at the time - or even much later - that his mother's unusual decision would eventually lead him to be CEO of one of the largest services for housing and support to people with chemical dependency and mental illness in Minnesota. Supportive Living Solutions, has not only helped people lead better lives, it has also become a business in which several of his family members have taken leadership roles to sustain its future.

Arrigoni and his niece and president, Vicky Frahn, don't like to call Supportive Living Solutions a "family business," however. Most employees - biological family or work family - has had to earn their way up from entry level jobs to roles in human resources, finance or property management and client advocacy (a few have been hired from the outside for leadership positions). The staff teaches clients about goal setting, health, and leadership, and those same values have served the business team just as well.

"We never have power struggles or turf wars within the family or the management in the business. We have spent many hours and communicate consistently about what a healthy environment needs to look like," Arrigoni says. "We always choose healthy versus unhealthy leadership and communication."

Arrigoni has benefited from "game changer" influences in his life, such as strong mentor when he was 19 and personal leadership resources like the late author and speaker Zig Ziglar. Today, Arrigoni's passion for leadership and personal development is clearly evident.

In his youth, Arrigoni worked in corporate sales for several years before returning to college and become a pastor. He was running a church he started when his sister, Mary Ann Dukek, died unexpectedly. She had been running their late mother's growing business, which fell to Arrigoni and his niece.

"My niece and I took over what was a half-million dollar company with two locations in 1996," Arrigoni says. "In 2001, we purchased a $1.1 million business providing housing and services to clients with mental illness. Now my wife and daughters and son-in-law work in the business, and Vicky's children and sister are also involved."

The overall goal of health that Virginia Arrigoni set out to accomplish in 1973 has been realized three-fold in the company's healthy business, healthy management team, and healthier clients.

But Arrigoni knows the leadership must evolve as the company expands – into, for instance, home healthcare services. And he knows there's a need to define some transition strategies that will carry the family’s legacy through the next generations.

Harmony in business isn't easy to maintain, especially when family comes in the mix. But when the larger goals of excellent service and improving lives are emphasized consistently, personal conflict can resolve into healthy decisions.

Tips for Health in Business

1. Set expectations for advancement from entry-level positions.
2. Communicate and demonstrate a healthy work environment consistently.
3. Allow and expect people to earn their opportunities.
4. Align the organization’s purpose with concrete goals.
5. Diversify services and train leaders for the future.