MOST RECENT MOST VIEWED

Should Entrepreneurs Learn Rock-Climbing?

My daughter has always had a strong independence streak. Recently, over a quiet dinner, Kirstie announced that she had selected a university ‘some distance’ from home at which to continue her education. Almost as an afterthought, she added that she had started a new hobby: rock climbing. One evening, I went to watch her at the climbing wall and decided that, despite the safety harnesses, this was not a sport for her height-challenged father, for whom a step-ladder invokes trepidation.

Setting Up Conditions for Success

I am currently working with two family businesses – one where the founder (Bob) is well into his 70s and continues to rule with an iron fist, and the other where the founder (Jim) is in his 60s and has passed managerial control to a non-family member. These two stories illustrate the difference between being proactive versus being reactive when it comes to succession planning.

Nothing Left to Chance

Across the country, there are thousands of savvy business owners who have built successful companies, diligently investing countless hours into planning to ensure the success and viability of their businesses. But when it comes to planning for their company's future after their retirement or death, a majority are just crossing their fingers.

THE FAMILY TRUST:  One of the Great Misnomers of Our Time

Lawyers and accountants in the estate planning field often recommend setting up a trust to their 60- or 70-something family business clients. This is typically done for tax or creditor-proofing reasons and often in circumstances where the client does not feel comfortable leaving shares of the family business to the children or one or more of them. From the point of view of the client, this is a happy result. The question is how happy will it be for the children who might one day become next-generation owners of the business.

Engines At The Ready

Red Rocket is a $150 million manufacturing and distribution company located on the outskirts of a major American city. The company's focus is the manufacturing and distribution of children's toy cars, trucks, ambulances, and helicopters etc. This second generation company has been in existence since 1955. The company's workforce of 175 includes a sales team of 25 across North America, Europe and Australia. The company is family-owned and has always been profitable. Suggestions to go public have been dismissed, as they have worked hard to develop and maintain strong professional managers, and have little employee turnover.