Business Continuity Challenges

There is clearly disconnect between the belief in today’s family business owners and reality. Did you know – 88% of current family business owners believe their family will continue their business? Only 30% of family businesses survive into the second generation, only 12% are still viable into the third generation, and only 3% operate in the fourth generation.

Business owner-centric plans are frequently secretive and often known only at the death of the owner, resulting in unnecessary court costs and enormous legal fees due to the differences in objectives between active business heirs and passive heirs. The reason many families fail in passing on their wealth successfully is because of family issues, not business issues. Unfortunately, most advisors are trained to deal only with business issues, not family concerns. We have found that both are necessary to pass wealth successfully to future generations.

The Entrepreneur and the Family

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 business owner is often close to the truth. 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 of his time.

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