every family

What makes a family business unique, and quite often is the key to its Competitive Edge is its close family connections, experience and expertise. In order to sustain this unique edge, a family business needs to plan early, carefully and thoroughly so successors can be developed and groomed from the family ranks.

Common Succession Issues

- Treating all family children fairly

- Reactions from non-family employees

- Family communications and conflict

- Estate Taxes

- Executive and Management level organization and structure

- Determine how best to select successors:

-- Groom one child from an early age to take over?

-- Allow family members to compete and choose replacements and successors with the aid of the Board of Directors and/ or the Family Council?

-- Choose successors without the aid of a third party?

-- Form an Executive Committee of family members (3-members)?

-- Allow the children and/ or family as a whole to choose incoming leaders?

How to go about choosing future leaders and successors really is a factor of a particular family business's history, current structure, planning, success, future growth forecasts, available resources (human, technical, strategic and financial), aspirations, goals, wishes and a host of contingent variables. The complexity of succession issues really dictates the use of an experienced Business Consultant, Attorney and Accountant to help develop and implement a successful Continuation Plan. The Business Consultant should be the quarterback of the planning process: he or she should coordinate the inputs of the current leadership, Board of Directors, Family Council, key non-family employee, legal, human resources and accounting; along with the Consultant's experienced advice, to come up with an acceptable, flexible, successful Business Succession Plan.

A Business Consultant can be a great investment when replacement choices are limited. If faced with this challenge, a family business needs to utilize professional help to:

- Analyze present key position assignments, responsibilities and performance to determine current capabilities and weaknesses, as well as, future succession management and leadership gaps.

- Take a Close look at the current company structure and determine if the structure needs to be modified to meet future human resource challenges.

- Do present family members need cross-training, leadership education and mentoring? Or are there key non-family employees who can fill future leadership gaps?

In order to find a solution to a leadership and management future gap threat, it is important to have sound, objective, experienced third-party professional advice and expertise at hand. Moreover, all present managers and key people, family and non-family, should be included in the decision making and planning process when replacement choices present an inherent challenge.

Business Continuation and Succession Planning

In a family enterprise, succession occurs when the family business owner/ leader/ founder passes away, becomes incapacitated, exits the company or retires. You can never start too early in planning replacements; along with succession and continuation contingency planning. Having explained the various areas and issues to consider when planning for future Company leadership and management, we will now examine the importance of Operating Authority Planning; how this authority will pass from one generation to the next when planned for, as well as, putting in place emergency, contingency authority planning when the family business's leader and/ or top management suddenly departs.

- Sudden Departure Planning: Sudden death or incapacity in a business's upper leadership echelon can be paralyzing if not properly planned for. It is very important to consult an experienced Certified Financial Planner, Estate Planning Attorney and Business Accountant to ensure a Business Continuation Financial Plan is in place, which sets up the necessary wills, trusts, insurances, investments and other vehicles to ensure the business can have a successful financial transition. This is often accomplished with Key Person Life Insurance and Disability Insurance. It is very important these advisors work in concert with the Company's Business Consultant, Financial Consultant and Business Attorney so that the Business Succession and Continuation Plan link both Management & Leadership Planning with the Operational Authority Planning.

- Planned Departure Planning: As previously discussed, there should be a Leadership and Management Continuation Plan in place. This ensures a smooth transition and can be overseen by the Company's Board of Directors. This Departure Plan will kick in automatically with the Operational Authority Plan if a sudden, unplanned Leadership Departure occurs. The Continuation and Succession Strategy should be implemented in stages so the existing Company leader can ensure a smooth transition. Having finances in place to take care of any dips in sales and profits during this transition is key and should be part of the plan.
It is important that the outgoing Company leader can retire comfortably and has a retirement life plan in place. When it is time to go, according to the plan, the family Company leader must cleanly go and not hold on. It is time for the next generation to move the Company forward. A Certified Financial Planner and Compensation Structure Expert should be consulted to determine the best way to set up a successful Retirement Plan for outgoing family members- their retirement comfort is key toward continuing a clean break from the business.

- Selling Stock to Family Members: A successful transition is only complete when the outgoing business leader/ owner sells his stake in the business to the remaining family members as per the Operating Authority Plan. The advantages of this type of transition are numerous:

-- Business remains in the family.

-- Business continues to provide a source of steady employment to family members.

-- The family's status and stature are preserved.

-- The former owner/ leader is freed up to actually retire and travel.

-- A successful successor(s) instills confidence and happiness throughout the family.

-- Strengthens family bonds rather than causing additional friction and conflict.

-- Future success rewards the family very well financially.

- Selling the Business Option: After several generations, sometimes family contracts or its members choose alternative careers and businesses. It is better to sell a successful venture than one withering and dying on the vine. This option should be included in the Operational Plan and be well thought out, utilizing the expertise of a Business Consultant, Registered Investment Advisor, Valuation Expert, Business Broker, Attorney and Accountant. If planned for properly, a business sale can be a great thing for a multi-generational family. The proceeds and resulting investments can secure future education funds, new business ventures, philanthropic organizations and other generational family interests and passions.

-- Some things to consider when selling the family business:

- The business owner/ leader ought to plan a transition period into the business sale process. An immediate retirement can reduce a Company's attractiveness to a buyer as having the founder/ leader/ owner around during the transition is often preferable.

- Utilized Valuation Experts and Accountants to evaluate assets, project profitability and determine good will mark up, among other value determinants. A prestigious accounting firm conducting a full audit and investigator go a long way in deriving a premium sales value which is acceptable to the buyer.

- Building up profits, retaining earnings and instituting cash flow management strategies can go a long way to attracting good buyers.

- Structuring the deal with the family retaining a small, passive stake in the business can be very attractive to a buyer as it instills confidence in the new leader and management, while giving the family the opportunity to profit from the Company. This can also make a premium price structure more palatable to a buyer.

- Shift assets to heirs to lower your basis in the business, thereby, decreasing and spreading out the tax load.

- Ensure financial records are up to date and audited with projections tending to air on the conservative side, while having realistic marketing outlooks and inherent assumptions.

- Need to understand what you and your family members will lose from the sale and plan accordingly with your financial advisors. Things to consider:

Pension/ Retirement Investment Plan
Stock Plan
Health, Life, Disability & Long-Term Care
Company cars
Club dues
Perks & Benefits

-- Tax implications can be substantial in a business sale so utilize a good tax planning firm, along with garnering advice from your Certified Financial Planner.

Tax and Estate Planning Implications

One of the biggest threats to the successful continuation and succession of family businesses are the constantly changing tax laws. Utilizing an experienced Estate Planning Attorney, Tax Attorney and Business Attorney, along with a solid Business Accounting Firm, to ensure you not only maximize present profits while minimizing your tax liability, but also successfully plan to pass your estate and business onto heirs in the most tax preference way. Some Estate Planning considerations to keep in mind while planning for business continuation and succession:

- Major concerns typically are the perpetuation of the business and maintaining liquidity. Without sufficient cash to pay estate taxes, heirs have little choice but to drain cash from the business when it most needs it or worse, be forced to sell it or sell many of its prized assets.

- Good Estate Planning can:

-- Reduce the need for beneficiaries to remove funds from the business.

-- Maintain beneficiaries' interest stakes by keeping funds in the Company.

-- Provide a smooth transition when developed in conjunction with the Management/ Leadership Strategic & Succession Plan and the Company's Operating Authority Plan (see previous sections for more details).

-- Selling the patriarch's / matriarch's stake in the business, in advance of any Succession Plan implementation (whether a planned or sudden departure) to family members can be the best estate planning a family business can employ, while giving the business leader control of the Company until the agreed upon relinquishment.

-- There are a host of structural tools which can be used to minimize estate tax liability, that should be fully explored with your Financial Advisory Team, such as:

Gifting
Stock Sales
Trusts
Limited Liability Corporations
Family Limited Partnerships
Share holder Buy/ Sell Agreements

- Critically Important: Establishing a valuation of the business which is in compliance with IRS regulations is critically important. Overvaluing, as well as, undervaluing a business for tax purposes can both be highly expensive mistakes. This is why having an excellent Tax & Financial Team of Advisors in place is absolutely essential.

Conclusion

Not everything can be planned for, but if you adopt the strategies prescribed in this article, which are commonly unique to a family enterprise, running and managing the successful family business is significantly improved, while ensuring successful next generation business continuation and succession. Family Businesses have a unique set of Competitive Advantages, which if planned for, can be used to exploit new markets and ensure future profitability and success. In the end, if you, the family business owner / founder / leader successfully plan, build and manage the family enterprise, you will need to give up control and ultimately ownership in your cherished accomplishment. If built well, the family business will continue to reflect the leader's / founder's ambition, innovation, initiative, entrepreneurship, character, values, integrity, ethics; all those things in testament to hard work and perseverance. This is the legacy of the business, clearing the way for future generations.

Frank Godley is a business consultant, business turnaround consultant and business coach for ABC Business Consulting. He is an expert in developing, writing and implementing business plans, business funding plans, marketing plans, strategic plans and business turnaround plans. He also offers complete solution business consulting, business turnaround consulting, and web SEO, marketing and development consulting. Frank is author of a business plan book, The Comprehensive Business Plan Workbook - A Step by Step Guide to Effective Business Planning, and he writes the Business Success Strategies Blog.

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Recently, a good friend confided in me that she's been waking up in the middle of the night worried about the economy and its effect on her family and business. She's not alone. Business-owning families across the country are concerned about the impact of oil prices and the impending economic slowdown. For many, the demands and tensions of tough economic times highlight even more clearly the need for trust and open communication between family members. These demands and tensions also emphasize the need for economic discipline, clear policies, and well-established systems of family and business governance.

Over the last 15 years of economic prosperity, the financial success of many family businesses has spawned a number of bad habits. A recent meeting I had with a client led to a discussion of the economic outlook in his industry-rising fuel costs together with a more competitive landscape have led to a shrinking bottom line. The natural tendency in tough economic times is to cut costs and consider letting some employees go. Upon further discussion with my client, it became clear that the family members around the table in management positions were reacting to the pressures without a clear understanding of the true cause of their financial troubles or the likely financial impact of their decisions.

I asked the founder of the business how he ran the business seven years ago, when it was growing rapidly. As expected, I heard that there were regular weekly meetings that included a review of the financials and in-depth analysis of revenue and cost trends, and a comparison to a budget. My client admitted that as the business grew and profitability exploded, the budget process became less disciplined. Weekly meetings became monthly meetings and then disappeared altogether. Further discussion also revealed that family tensions were ignored as the business grew and bank accounts expanded.

Suppression of family conflict did not resolve it, but only made it more deep seated. This lack of financial discipline combined with increasing tension in the family and a shrinking bottom line were leading to real challenge. Beyond economic discipline, families must have the discipline to stick to their policies and succession plans. Families can avoid creating additional tension at an already challenging time by enforcing discipline in all areas of family business planning.

Family Business System Managing the intersection of the three systems present in family business-family, business, and ownership-is a key to family business success. Tough economic times create stress across the system. Business performance may suffer and tough decisions need to be made. Family business conflicts, which are easy to ignore when the return from the business is good, rise to the surface during an economic downturn. Family members not in the business may blame those who are for not addressing financial problems sooner. Owners have to deal with the possibility of cutting back on distributions or possibly even selling the business. The conflicting goals, which are often present in the three systems, are best managed by policies and processes that ensure all concerns are addressed and brought into alignment.

The tendency is to ignore policies and processes when times get tough. However, a sound family business infrastructure is even more crucial in tough economic times. Families have a dividend policy stating that dividends will only be paid when they do not threaten the viability of the business. In tough economic times, dividends may need to be suspended. During an economic downturn, the test will be whether or not family members follow the policy.

Enforcement of a family employment policy is another example. Breaking the policies that you have in place is not good for the business or the family. There does need to be some flexibility in policies and processes to address unforeseen challenges. However, families must consider the long-term implications of breaking rules they originally made in the best interest of the business and family. To weather an economic downturn, families must build a strong infrastructure and stick to it.

Four Tips for Addressing a Downturn 1. Build or return to sound business management practices. Tracking and enforcing responsibility for financial results is important in good economic times, but it is essential in a downturn. Creating a realistic budget to ensure that revenues will cover costs is also imperative. This exercise should consider what areas can be cut back if revenues shrink substantially. Once the budget is complete, create a process for tracking performance against the budget so that any changes in the environment faced by the business are identified quickly. Developing solutions in areas that are not tracking against the budget and then holding management accountable for delivering results (or alternative solutions if budget expectations are no longer realistic) are a natural outgrowth of the process. Last but not least, it is critical in uncertain times to hold regular management meetings where the team can discuss changes in the business environment and also develop plans to address them.

2. Be prepared for lower distributions. A business that has prospered over the years and has always paid generous distributions or dividends to its shareholders may find it difficult to meet these payouts during today's challenging economic times. A family shareholder group that has taken the time and effort to learn about their business and the factors that make their dividends possible will be in a much better position to anticipate and adapt to changes in their dividends than a shareholder group that has just accepted their dividend checks without any effort to understand what lies behind them.

3. Stick to your employment policy. Many families require members of the next generation to work outside of the business for several years before the next generation can work in the family business. However, when the economy slows and a well-paying, desirable job is tough to find, the family may be tempted to ignore its employment policy and hire young family members right out of college. The family may ask, "What good is having a business if we can't help the kids during tough times?" A valid question-but perhaps the members of the family would be wise to remember why they created the policy requirement in the first place. Most family members are able to make more significant and enduring contributions to their business after having a chance to learn in other work settings. Just because it's very difficult to find work, is that requirement no longer relevant? Rather than simply ignoring the established policy, a family must seek ways to help young, inexperienced family members without abandoning its stated policy. There are many ways to accomplish this, and each family will find its own way. For example, the family business can help family members with resume development, interview preparation, or even introductions to possible employers.

4. Honor the succession plan. A father or grandfather who has turned management of the business over to members of the next generation is often tempted to jump back into action during tough times. The family may welcome and encourage their involvement because of Dad's or Grandpa's history of success under pressure. Will the family allow the current leadership to lead or will there be too much fear for the family to place its trust in the next generation's leaders? An "either/or" solution is not the answer. Finding a way to access the wisdom of the senior generation without cutting off the junior generation at its knees will be imperative. Combining the wisdom of the past with the talents of the present will be the key to success in these tough times. A family's response to these economic times could be seen as a test of will and commitment. A family shareholder group that has worked hard to establish policies and governance systems will certainly be led to question the wisdom of those policies, which were likely created during times of peace, calm, and even prosperity. Will the family stick with its policies, even if individual or collective suffering results in the short term? What will take precedence-the needs of the business, or the needs of the brother who requires his dividends for a mortgage payment or the sister whose daughter needs a job? All systems will begin to fray or fracture at their weakest point, when the going gets rough and pressure starts to build. A family system is no different. Many family businesses are seeing and feeling more than a few cracks starting to emerge in response to today's increased economic pressure. By returning to the tried and true-strong governance, agreed-upon policies, family education-families can use the challenges of these tough times to become even stronger and more unified.

This article is designed to provide general information and is not intended to provide specific legal, accounting, tax or other professional advice. Since your individual situation may present special circumstances or complexities not addressed in this article and laws and regulations may change, you should consult your professional advisors for assistance with respect to any matter discussed in this article. Family Business Consulting Group®, its editors and contributors shall have no responsibility for any actions or inaction made in reliance upon information contained in this article. Articles are based on experience on real family businesses. However, names and other identifying characteristics may be changed to protect privacy.

A senior associate of The Family Business Consulting Group, Dr. Green is the former director of the Austin Family Business Program, and was founding Director of the Austin Entrepreneurship Program, at the College of Business at Oregon State University.

Mark is an active educator, speaker, researcher and advisor on succession, family business governance, entrepreneurship and professionalization of the family business. He consults, speaks and leads academic courses, executive education programs, workshops and seminars for family businesses and the professionals that serve family enterprises. He is regularly quoted by the news media such as the Wall Street Journal, The Oregon, and The Denver Post regarding family business issues. He was co-founder of the Family Enterprise Research Conference with Plasmodia Sharma that was hosted in Portland, Oregon in 2005 and served as chair of the Educator and Research Conference for Family Firm Institute in 2005.

Mark graduated from Cal Poly Pomona (B.S. Business Administration), the Atkinson Graduate School of Management at Willamette University (MBA) and the Claremont Graduate School (M.A. Political Economy and Ph.D. Economics & Political Science). Mark comes from a family business and learned firsthand the challenges and pitfalls of running a family business, including the critical importance of issues such as succession planning, strategic planning and healthy family business relations.

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Trees are one of the best ways to beautify your property and liven up the neighborhood. There are many different kinds of trees that can make your landscaping more beautiful. But there are times when the trees on your property become too large or become damaged, leaning the wrong way and endangering your buildings and even your family. When this happens, tree removal may be the best option.

Eventually, these trees may no longer contribute to the beauty of your landscape and having them removed may be your only choice. There are also times when trees have to be replaced with other trees which are more suitable for the landscape. Or some of them may be infected with a disease and pose a risk to your lives or to your property. These are some of the reasons why you may need a tree removal company to cut the trees for you.

There is no question that trees offer a myriad of benefits. These include bringing fresh air and giving us much needed shade on hot sunny days. But it is important to understand how to manage these trees in order to ensure that they do not endanger your property or the lives of family members. This could happen of course because of heavy winds taking down dead or diseased trees.

Of course, it's possible that you want to remove the tree by yourself. However, you might find this task too overwhelming as it involves a very difficult and dangerous process. If you've never experienced removing a tree before, attempting to do it might bring harm to yourself or the people around you. The bigger the tree that you want cut, the more dangerous it is to remove. Likewise, there are cases when some trees regrown because the stump was not handled properly. All these hazards can be avoided by hiring the services of a professional company so then you'll have the peace of mind knowing your lives are in safe hands.

If this job is too big for you, then employing the service of the professionals might be your best option. These people will work very professionally to remove any trees that are dying or rotting very close to your house. They have the experience and expertise needed to handle the job. They know how to remove trees in ways that will prevent damage to other people's property or cars and ensure that nobody gets harmed. Aside from having the right techniques, they also have the specialized equipment necessary for this type of job.

You don't have to put yourself and your loved ones in danger, when there are tree removal services available to help you. If there are trees in your yard that you want removed, call one of these companies immediately so then you will no longer live in fear that the tree or even just part of it would fall on you or your family or that it might damage your neighbor's property.

You may not think of it as everything that important, but once it comes to home security systems, a community lookout system is extremely efficient at preventing criminal activity. The statistics display overwhelming proof for this. Take a consider a few reasons why an area watch system should be a part of your Myrtle Beach, SC home security systems plan!

Wooing dogs, the best locks, security alarm systems€¦these are all excellent tools for deterring burglars. Intruders want to get away as fast as possible with just as much loot as is possible and they don't need to trigger alarm systems, spend some time to break hard locks or pass over canines wooing loudly. They also do not want the rest of the block seeing them or catching them in the process. Despite having the most effective home alarm system out there, you can't beat neighbors that are on their toes and conscious of their particular surroundings!

How Can Neighborhood Monitoring Plans Support Home Security?

It is known as layering the safety program. You may have the best locks and loudest alarm systems, however there is not a alternative to your pals and neighbors looking out for you. Maybe you're at the pavement, rather than in your house, and someone tries to steal or assault you there. Neighbors who are trained to always be on the lookout have a higher potential for stopping this crime in the process simply by drawing focus on it. Most crooks are cowards and will run when they are confronted. There is really power in numbers.

Neighborhood watch likewise raises sharing amongst the citizens. You may create a social networking page for the neighborhood or e-mail notifications in order to report any kind of questionable activities or concerns in your neighborhood. When many people are communicating, everyone is safer! Communicating information and facts is a strong method.

Get the law enforcement officials concerned. They will come confer with your group to enable you to understand when you should give them a call precisely what to do if something uncommon happens. Becoming knowledgeable from law enforcement can be be extremely strengthening and are generally more than happy to help. They are able to also work by regularly popping out to patrol in your area, and also supplying helpful tips about keeping your property safer.

Home security systems needs to include residents who keep and eye on each other's properties when one are away. Beyond getting the mail, have a neighbor to come and look on your property, take care of your flowers, and do anything whatsoever that makes your property look were living inside. Leave the light source on if you're gone and not simply the outside light - leave an inside light on too. Also, never post that you are at a distance on social media sites like Facebook. You don't ever want to advertise that your particular house is empty!

Home security systems is more important than ever. If you don't have got a neighborhood monitor program in place in your area, consider planning up the efforts and getting it started out. There are many resources on the internet that will assist you make this happen and it does note get a lot to get people on board. Everyone wants a safe community, so why not come together?

Basketball star Shaquille O'Neal said, “Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.”

1. Service. Teach children to serve from the time they are small. Asking a neighbor if they need assistance, visiting a nursing home and telling jokes, doing kind deeds for brothers and sisters and donating their gently used toys to a pre-school or daycare all teach children to think outside of their own world. It develops in them the capacity to see the needs of others.
2. Fully living in the moment. Teaching children to be aware of their surroundings and living in the moment will help them to recognize opportunities are everywhere to be excellent. Teach them to observe the world around them thoughtfully.
3. Prayerful living. Our kids should understand that they can prayerfully ask the lord how to be the best they can be each day. They can learn to ask what path they should take to be the people they should be. Teach them to know that no decision is too small to pray about.
4. Full commitment. Children need to be fully committed to whatever activities they become engaged in. If they want to play the piano, football or to paint, they need to give it all they have. Teach children to do all it takes to be good at what they are undertaking. This means fulfilling the practices and the teamwork.
5. Well-roundedness. While they need to be fully engaged in their passions, children need to know that doing so is just the beginning. They have to find balance. If a child is an athlete, he must also be a student. If she is a scientist, she must also go out and play and have down time. Through it all, family needs to be a priority. This seems like a lot, but it will help your child to not become lost in or fanatical about one thing. He or she is still and need to continue to be a child.
6. Humility. It is really important for our children to learn humility. It is so easy for them to begin to believe they are more important than those around them. Children may begin to develop a sense of entitlement and self-importance that will not serve them well. That's where service comes in as a handy tool. It is good to teach children to acknowledge where their gifts come from and to always be grateful and giving.
7. Mentoring. Once a child begins to be excellent at what he or she does, teach him that helping someone else develop talents is the best way to show gratitude. Children can tutor other students if they are academically gifted, work with Special Olympics if they are athletically inclined or find other ways to reach out and pull others along to excellence.
8. Sharing talents. Whatever it is they do well, a child needs to use it to the benefit of those around them. Children need to learn to share their talents in order to uplift sinking spirits. Our talents are not given to us to hide under a bushel.
9. Graciousness. Children must learn to lose with grace and dignity. We can teach them to understand that winning isn't everything and that losing is just a part of their growth. Good sportsmanship is the key to better enjoyment of their gifts.