The Entrepreneur and the Family Excerpts from: Becoming a Wealth Transfer Specialist Learn More

Given the amount of dedication and work required to build a successful business, it may be tempting to ask, "What family? Who has time for a family?"

Unfortunately, that particular stereotype of the dedicated small business owner is very often quite close to the truth.

In order to invest the amount of time and energy it requires to build a successful business, the entrepreneur often finds family life neglected. It's one of the sacrifices made in the pursuit of one's dream. The justification, of course, is that all the time away from the family will someday result in a better life for everyone. The trouble is, that day never seems to come. The entrepreneur, being what he is, will look for new challenges and new demands on his time.

Burying oneself in work is an easy option for the individual who has invested time, energy, and ego in it-not to mention money and financial security. Workaholism also is a convenient way to shelter oneself from having to deal with family problems and the myriad of issues that constantly arise in the day-to-day life of the average family.

The results are predictable. While the entrepreneur focuses on the business, the family, while sharing in the stress that results, often is left to find solutions without the active participation of one of its key members. One consequence is that the non-business parent ends up running the family while the other runs the business. In other cases, both parents may be active in the business-providing even less parental involvement in the children's lives.

In most respects, members of families where a business is involved have the same needs as all families. However, living and working together can create a closeness that often results in differences that do not exist in families where there is no business interest. Here are a few examples:

Nurturing and Love. This is probably the most basic need of every individual and a need usually met by family members. Very often, however, the family is incapable of providing unconditional love and nurturing for various reasons. And, when there is a business involved, family members often blame the business for the failure of the family to meet this need. The result can be resentment and conflict centered on the role of the business in the family's life.

Increased Self-esteem. This is another universal need among all people. Again, we learn to love ourselves largely through interactions with others-most importantly family members. In many cases, the existence of a business in the family can provide an ideal climate for nurturing self-esteem among family members-particularly children. In some cases, however, self-esteem becomes wrapped up in the ability or inability to meet the expectations of the business owner. Given our discussion of the personality of the typical entrepreneur, this can be a very difficult task-especially for a child.

Fairness and Equality. Here again is an issue that many families struggle with. In families with a small business involved, it can be an extremely difficult one to manage. How can all family members be treated fairly and/or equally when not all can or want to participate in the business? This is an important issue we'll spend more time on later.

Relief from Tax Burdens and Transfer Costs. Affluent families often struggle with issues around transferring the family's wealth. Debts, estate and gift taxes all have to be considered when planning for wealth preservation. When a business is involved, many of these issues become even more complicated. Later, we'll discuss in more detail the challenges faced in planning to preserve the business for future generations.

Business Continuation. This can be a particularly tricky aspect of planning. All family members may not want to continue in the business after the owner's death or retirement. For those who do have the desire, the question is one of being fully prepared to step into the role of business leader. For those family members not interested in continuing in the business, the question is one of fair treatment. The key is to create a plan, before it is needed, that will permit the continuation of the business and preserve family harmony.

Building a business from scratch is not an easy task. Doing it while balancing family needs is even more daunting. It's the rare individual who excels at both.