Blog

Last week I received a call from “Juan” who told me his attorney had found the perfect buyer for his business. Juan had always said that selling the business would be his last resort. Juan is 78 and his wife would like him to retire. Juan took over his Dad’s business...

When should the family business begin planning for succession? How can the entrepreneur know when the right time is to turn over the reins of leadership? How can he tell if his children possess the competencies they will need to continue the organization’s success?...

Entrepreneurs age. As then move into their last few decades of life they, if smart, must find a way to face one of their most difficult challenges and tasks – Succession. Whether the successors come from within the family (which the patriarch usually most wants) or an...

Great Family Businesses are made, not born. Although 1st generation entrepreneurs always know this fact, second and subsequent generations often do not. As we all know, family businesses, like individuals and families can easily become ill or fall into dis-repair....

As has been well publicized the success rate of effective succession from the first to second generation in family businesses is about 33%.  There are many reasons for this including poor planning, inability of the older generation to let-go, changing market...

In a previous article we discussed how in the “Perez” family had never discussed the patriarch’s Estate Plan, how the business was left to his wife and four children which eventually ended up in a legal battle for control of the business. Four years after the...

At a recent board meeting of the Juan Perez Mall Pizza Franchise an amazing event happened. The two sons who had been running the business successfully for years all of a sudden found themselves looking for a job. Their Mother and two sisters had voted to strictly...

Family Businesses are beautiful but complex organisms. Those of us who work with our family members know something about this. As advisors for family companies we often see deep alienation between family shareholders and managers. What usually begins innocently and...

Over and over we see families where one member becomes alienated from the other family members yet ends up the determining factor in the future of the family’s business. The individual may distance themselves from other family members to the point of not talking to...