Why Does Your Family Business Exist?

I recently asked a family member working in their Family Business, 

              “Why does your Family Business exist?”

The response was a long period of silence, followed by, “I never really thought about it, it was always just here!”

If you were to stand at the door of you Business and ask each Family member (and Non-Family employee) that goes in and out of the Business, how will they answer that question?

Why is this question so important?

As a Business Family – Why does your Family Business exist?

In a Business Family, the measuring stick or metric of success must be determined and considered by all in the Family and in the Business, in order to understand underlying motivations and decision-making. Increasing satisfaction in attaining the results of the metrics will increase morale, commitment, and overall satisfaction in the business and in the family.

Why are we in Business together?

                                    A Checklist

            1. Our goal is to just pay our bills.

            2. Our goal is to provide employment for all family members that need a job.

            3. Our goal is to harvest the business and cash out.

            4. Our goal is to build a family legacy that has an Entrepreneurial mindset.

            5. Our goal is to build a family legacy and pass the business to the next generation.

            6. All in our family have identified & connected with the goals&  objectives of the family.

            7. All in our family have identified & connected with the goals & objectives of the business.

            8. All in our family have internalized the vision of our family.

            9. All in our family have internalized the mission of our family.

            10. All in our family have internalized the values of our family.

Is it Possible to Keep Everyone Happy and Productive in a Family-Owned Business?

With Paul S. Reback

Recognizing the vital role Family-Owned Businesses play in America's Financial health, a mistake that even the most successful family enterprises make is that they get stuck doing things the same way even when circumstances necessitate change. Another problem is that the company’s hierarchy typically reflects the family’s pecking order at work in the same way it does at home. For instance, whoever is seen as the head of the household also wants to tell everyone else what to do at the office. Ditto when it comes to how the bully brother, the passive aggressive sister, or the perennially insecure middle child interacts in the workplace.

While every story is different, the fighting and feuding that often results tends to revolve around one of two things: money and personalities. Regardless of the scenario, these conflicts, if left unresolved, can blossom into full-blown warfare in the business setting.

There are five areas that are among some of the most common problems affecting family businesses today. The better you understand them, the better you will be able to use them to your advantage.

Paul S. Reback, President of Capital Estate Advisors, Inc. is a Registered Investment

Advisor with over 30 years’ experience successfully serving clients in the financial services industry. He received his designation as a Certified Financial Planner from Adelphi University. He has been a guest lecturer at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and teaches continuing professional education courses for CPAs. Paul has appeared on various radio and television talk shows, including Bloomberg Television, speaking on finance, investment and estate and retirement planning. He has also given many public talks and seminars with attorneys, stress management experts and numerous other client advisors. He is a dynamic and entertaining speaker adept at making complex financial choices easily understandable.  He enjoys helping people make sure they meet their goals and that they will never outlive their money. 

Join The Network of Family Businesses for this in-depth Webinar on Thursday, March 26, 2015 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time, with Paul S. Reback.

                                                      For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

A Focused Look at a Few Key Buy-Sell Agreement Provisions

With John Reed, Esq. of Barley Snyder

and

Eric Filippone MT, of The Glatfelter Agency

Rather than a broad-brush overview of a Buy-Sell Agreement, we will focus on and have an in-depth conversation regarding three key provisions in a Buy-Sell – Triggers; Valuation; and Funding.  The conversation will focus on different options; discuss when such options are appropriate and the benefits of each approach.

John T. Reed, Partner, Barley Snyder: John is the chair of the firm's Business Law

Group and Family Business Law Group. John's primary practice is comprised of two separate but related areas: (i) counseling family owned and closely held businesses; and (ii) buying and selling businesses, and in many cases, acting as a general counselor for the business on an ongoing basis after the transaction is completed.

Barley Snyder is also one of the founding members and a current corporate sponsor of the S. Dale High Family Business Center at Elizabethtown College. John leads the firm's efforts at the Center and is a frequent speaker and a regular resource for the CEO Roundtable and Emerging Leaders Groups at the Center.

Eric M. Filippone is Vice President, Life Insurance for The Glatfelter Agency. He joined the firm in 2012. Eric graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from

LaSalle University and holds a Master of Science in Taxation from Philadelphia University. He has more than 20 years of combined experience in the accounting and Life & Annuity industry. He is a candidate for Certified Financial Planner at the American College.

The Glatfelter Agency is a current corporate sponsor of the S. Dale High Family Business Center at Elizabethtown College and is the local retail division of Glatfelter Insurance Group. The Glatfelter Agency is a full-service agency providing a wide array of commercial and personal insurance products, benefits packages, and risk management solutions to more than 6,300 clients in Central Pennsylvania and Northern Maryland.

Join The Network of Family Businesses for this in-depth Webinar on Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time, with John Reed and Eric Filippone.

                                                      For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

Why You Should Write Your Family Business History

With Rachel Landry

For the present

The action you take today will certainly generate immeasurable results well into the future. But more than that, this action can generate measurable results today. This session will explore the immediate benefits of documenting your legacy, and the long-term gains of doing it sooner rather than later. In addition to your future generations and family members, there are other possible audiences for your business story. We’ll identify a number of them together, helping you understand how you can use a product like this today to boost your business.

For the future

Sometimes we don’t know we need something until it’s handed to us, and once we have it, we suddenly see and feel its value and we cherish it with all our hearts. As the current leader of a multi-generational business, you may feel you have the added responsibility of trying to anticipate what the next generation of leaders may need, and preparing it for them, whatever it may be, so they never have to wonder or guess. In a family business one of those things, possibly the very first and most important of those things, is the legacy.  The progressive story of the business from the day it started to how it got to where it is today, with special emphasis on the values and dreams of the person or people who built it from merely an idea or need, to this thriving modern entity.

That’s only one example of the potential value your documented story holds, the appreciation that will surely come to those who read it years from now, or decades from now, when you or other family members who know the story firsthand are no longer around to tell it.

Rachel Landry – A Writer for Life 

She was praised by teachers as a talented essayist. She had hundreds of pen pals. She spent hours writing journal entries in the sanctuary of her tree house. But in those days, writing held little promise for a girl from a small Canadian fishing village. Besides, Rachel Landry had other dreams. She came to Toronto in 1990, intent on success in film production, and accumulated an extensive list of Script Supervisor credits. In 2007, seeking the freedom to be home with her daughter, and with the web now offering a limitless market, she called upon her lifelong passion for writing. Rachel has since been the author of short bios and profiles for hundreds of executives, artists and musicians, politicians, professional athletes, and celebrities.

Join The Network of Family Businesses for this challenging Webinar on Thursday, January 22, 2015 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time, with Rachel Landry.

For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

Merry Christmas from SKM Associates!

It has been an exciting year for us: we began working with several new business family clients, we

continued serving business families that we have known for years, and we enjoyed navigating additional opportunities for my son, Aaron, and I to work together.

Family businesses continue to be a lifeblood of our economy, and we consider it a privilege to walk along with families navigating the myriad of issues that families in business face.  We couldn't agree more with Ted Clark of Northeastern University's Center for Family Businesses: "Run well, family businesses can be some of the best.  They invest for the long haul, offer long-term employment, and contribute to their communities."

We are thankful for the opportunity to work with great folks like you.  We are able to do what we do because of referrals from people like you.  We don't take those referrals lightly, and we appreciate you thinking of us when we could be helpful to you or someone you know.

Merry Christmas to you and your family.  We wish you the best in the new year.  

Please feel free to reach out to us.  We would love to hear how things are going.

Join Us For A Panel Discussion: Addictions and Substance Abuse in the Family Business

With Dr. Karl Benzio; Bill Messinger, Esq. & Melissa Mitchell-Blitch, MS, MA

We have all seen a loved one make some destructive decisions. When someone we love is in the grip of a harmful pattern, we naturally want to help. In spite of our best intentions though, our efforts are sometimes actually more harmful than helpful. The psychobabble term for this is "enabling," otherwise known as "good intentions gone wrong."

For Family businesses there are added pressures and stresses in that, people know each other’s baggage, insecurities, weaknesses, and shortcomings. There are extra pressures to succeed, work harder, and work longer. In the Family and the Business, at times, a lot more enabling occurs – meaning family usually ignores or “protects” the person from the natural consequences thus enabling the destructive/dysfunctional behavior to continue.

What is a Family Business to do? How should a Family Business address these critical issues?

Karl Benzio, MD, Psychiatrist is an international speaker and frequent media guest expert. Karl

testified for Congress and the President's Bioethics Commission, taught counseling program courses,

and spearheaded a unique Katrina relief effort. He has started a non-profit ministry, called Lighthouse Network, has directed adult and adolescent programs, psychiatric ER, as well as a Christian Rehab program, using his unique cutting-edge workshop, WITHIN REACH, to help people transform their lives, as it did Karl's addiction.

William F. Messinger JD, LADC, Attorney, Advisor and Counselor. As the architect and leading

proponent of using family resources and influence to encourage compliance with treatment recommendations, Bill is pursuing his mission to improve recovery rates from alcohol and drug addiction. In 1998, he originated the concept of applying very successful treatment protocols for physicians and pilots to other groups and has written extensively on the use of leverage by families to improve outcomes for their loved ones.

Melissa Mitchell-Blitch, MS, MA. Melissa pulls from her previous careers as a CPA/advisor, then

counselor, to help families navigate the relational and emotional challenges of wealth and business. She provides both coaching and consulting to families, and collaborates with the family’s advisors. Through her work with hundreds of challenging cases over the past decade, Melissa has developed an empathic yet direct style, which allows her to establish rapport with a wide range of personality types. She works with families to displace wishful thinking with skills, to replace avoidance with communication, and to dispel fear via clarity and intention. This process has shown to transform families in ways they never imagined were possible.

Join The Network of Family Businesses for thisWebinar on Wednesday December 17, 2014 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time.         For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

UNC Asheville Family Business Forum Joins The Network of Family Businesses

NEWS RELEASE

************************************************************************

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

UNC Asheville Family Business Forum

Joins The Network of Family Businesses

President of The Network of Family Businesses, Steven K. Moyer, stated this collaboration and partnership is an exciting step in continuing to provide a growing network of families in business access to educational resources as they strive to build their family legacy.

The UNC Asheville Family Business Forum with Strategic Partners is a resource to help business owners maximize the overall well being of their business and to transition successfully to the next generation. The Family Business Forum is an ongoing professional development and awareness-raising environment specifically designed for family owned and closely held businesses.

Guided by its members and supported by the Strategic Partners the Family Business Forum presents programs and activities that are meaningful and relevant to the membership. The programs originate from member feedback, hot topics of the moment, and other scientific methods family businesses put to use. Not many of us get it right the first time, so it helps to hear what the others are doing, said Cindy Clarke, Executive Director.

The Network of Family of Businesses is an exclusive online network that connects families who want to stay on top of trends while building their family legacies. The online organization, www.netfamilybusiness.com, was developed to meet the businesses owners’ limited time and schedule to get away from the office and attend seminars. An online meeting place also cuts down on the increasing cost of travel.

The Network of Family Businesses has over 600 Family Businesses including The Initiative for Family Business & Entrepreneurship of St. Joseph’s University, The High Center for Family Business Elizabethtown College, Family Business Center Madden School of Business @ Le Moyne College, and The Wilkes Family Business Alliance, and The Family Business Forum at Alvernia University.

For more information, or to discuss how The Network of Family Businesses may be able to serve your Family or organization.

The Network can be reached at steve@netfamilybusiness.com or 215-256-5997.

Weaving An Estate Plan Into A Succession Plan

With Tim Crisafulli, Esq. & Doug Gorman. Esq.

All business owners must face the inevitable:  the day will come when they will no longer own and operate their businesses.  Although a business owner cannot know whether retirement, disability, death, or a simple desire to try something new will be the cause of his or her departure, it is sure to happen.

           

By effectively planning an exit, a business owner can ensure that his or her business lives on after his or her departure.  In addition, the business owner can “cash out” rather than simply close up shop.  He or she can provide for a graceful transition to subsequent owners, whether they be family, trusted employees, or third-parties.  Sound planning can reduce the risk of an untimely death destroying a business’s value, leaving an uncertain future for the owner’s loved ones.

In this webcast, attorneys Douglas J. Gorman and Timothy P. Crisafulli will discuss select strategies for business succession planning and helpful estate planning techniques.  They will review essential provisions in organizational documents and transitional documents, ways to structure life insurance ownership, strategies to minimize taxes and retain control, and methods for achieving a metered ownership transfer.

Timothy P. Crisafulli practices in the areas of tax law, trust and estates, and elder law. Through his trusts and estates practice, Mr. Crisafulli helps families protect, preserve, and effectively transfer
wealth. He utilizes his extensive knowledge of tax law to minimize capital gains, income, gift, and estate taxes. He administers estates through all stages of probate, representing both fiduciaries and beneficiaries in litigation.

Douglas J. Gorman concentrates his practice on corporate, commercial and business matters. He provides counsel to businesses at all stages of development.  He assists start-up companies and emerging businesses with formation, choice of entity, structuring and financing, including equity investing and crowd-funding.  He counsels family businesses on corporate governance, shareholder and member relations, fiduciary duty and shareholder and member disputes.  He also advises companies, their owners and executives on exit strategies and succession planning.

Join The Network of Family Businesses for an educational Webinar on Wednesday November 19, 2014 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time, with Tim Crisafulli and Doug Gorman.

For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

Intentionally Developing Leaders for Family Owned Businesses

(Part 2)

In a recent Wall Street Journal survey, approximately half of the responding companies indicated that they plan to increase their leadership training budgets as a result of the recognition of the cost effectiveness of building leadership from within as opposed to only looking externally to hire key talent.

For family owned business, the next generation of the family often provides the talent pool for the next generation of leadership.  It takes intentional, focused efforts to grow and develop the next generation.  It is an investment not just in the next generation, but in building the family legacy.

Progressive family owned business leaders do certain things to foster leadership development within their organizations, including continuing to develop themselves; carefully selecting learning projects tailored to individuals in the next generation; and utilizing 360 Degree Feedback.

There are also other things that such leaders can do to foster the next generation and build leaders within their organizations.

Build exposure to other leaders: Broaden the opportunity of the next generation to network with seasoned leaders of other family owned businesses. There may be opportunities to do this through involvement in trade associations, family business forums, or the local Chamber of Commerce. Either way, it must be intentional.

Exposure to the Strategic Agenda: Invite the next generation to sit in on the planning discussions for the next business cycle. Do it now, before they will be expected to make the decisions. Show them your thought process. One business family that we have worked with has rotating seats on their Board of Directors for the next generation

External Coaching: Sometimes the next generation hears things differently, more clearly, and more receptively from an ‘outsider,’ such as an executive coach.  The coach must understand the issues and concerns of a business family, be committed to the success of the next generation and the legacy of the business, and have the ability to both push and pull the next generation along in their learning process.

Nurturing and developing the next generation can be a very rewarding journey.  Moreover, it supports and builds the family legacy.  However, it takes intentional commitment and effort.

Women and Wealth: A Hard Look at the "Soft Side"

With Susan Schoenfeld

Reflect back to your childhood, and your young adulthood. Think about the family stories you heard, about your ancestors who came here from another country, or who created the wealth that you may have inherited, and what those stories said to you about who you are and where you come from, and what your

family values and prioritizes. Now look forward, and think about the values, culture and history you are communicating, or will communicate, or want to eventually communicate, to your future generations. That is your family legacy. It's often not comfortable for a family to sit down and talk about its values and its wealth. If we don't make a conscious effort to think about our family's legacy in a formalized way, it's an easy conversation to put off.

In fact, most parents report that they would rather have the "sex talk" with their kids than the "money talk."

Susan R. Schoenfeld, JD, LL.M. (Taxation), CPA, MBA is CEO and founder of Wealth Legacy Advisors LLC, which provides objective advice to families of wealth through personal attention and human spirit. Services include Stewardship, Succession, Philanthropy, Next Generation Coaching and Education, and Fiduciary. She is an Attorney and CPA, with deep experience as an advisor to families and family offices on matters of generational wealth transfer, estate planning and education on the “personal issues of wealth”.

Previously, she was the Family Ambassador at the W Family Office, serving as the liaison between the single family office and its multi-national family members, and helping to engage and educate the next generation about their family wealth enterprise. Before that, she was Principal of Bessemer Trust for more than 14 years, where she helped high net worth individuals and families develop and implement generational wealth transfer planning strategies. She also created, developed and facilitated Bessemer's Women and Wealth Workshops, designed to explore personal aspects of wealth, which in turn inspired a series of Next Generation of Wealth workshops. In addition, she ran Bessemer’s donor advised fund, and also headed Bessemer’s Northeast Region Trust Administration group. 

Join The Network of Family Businesses for a virtual educational Webinar on Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time, with Susan Schoenfeld.

For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

Intentionally Developing Leaders for Family Businesses

(Part 1)

CEOs too often find that the depth of leadership talent within their organizations is not what it was in the past.  Sometimes this is a result of layoffs or other cutbacks during difficult economic seasons.  Sometimes this is a result of natural attrition without replacing departing talent.  Sometimes the organization has just failed to build up future leaders.  For many business families, the issue is how to train the next generation to be those future leaders.

As Baby Boomers plan the transition of the business to the next generation, it will take intentional effort to help the next generation grow and develop – and ultimately be prepared to take over the reins.  One of the significant advantages of developing the next generation of the family is that the potential talent pool already knows and understands the family culture.  The investment is truly building the family legacy, but it takes intentional effort and commitment.

What are a few intentional ways to develop the next generation?

Continue to develop yourself: As a leader in your family, you set the example. Seek to learn and grow at whatever stage of life you may be. The more competent you are, the more likely people are to trust you. Developing yourself will influence your relations with others, motivate others, and inspire others.

Carefully select learning projects: Every company has areas of growth opportunity. Take time to analyze what the business will face in the future.  Then, have the next generation take responsibility for beginning the investigation and data gathering regarding how the business can address the issue. The opportunity to learn the business, craft analysis, and present (and support!) their conclusions will help the next generation learn to face future business issues head-on.

Utilize 360 Degree Feedback: 360 degree feedback can prove invaluable to gain deeper insight into how others view leaders. Many times, we don’t know what we don’t know, which can create bigger problems later on. This kind of feedback can be a very valuable learning opportunity, but it must be done carefully. It has the potential of crushing the spirit if the process is mishandled. It must be done in an environment of trust, care, and confidentiality and is often best done by an independent, unbiased third party.  The rewards of this kind of feedback can be high, as long as it is managed properly.

Nurturing and developing the next generation can be a very rewarding journey. 

Moreover, it supports and builds the family legacy.  However, it takes intentional commitment and effort.

Oversight and Insight: Governance in Family Enterprises

Governance is often described as one of the fundamental responsibilities of ownership of a multi-generational family business. Therefore, adopting solid governance practices for your family and business may be two of the most beneficial actions you can take.

In this webinar we will discuss the purpose, development and the effective use of Boards and Family Councils, the primary governance platforms in a family enterprise. With proper execution, Boards and Family Councils add a unique accountability component; this serves to propel growth and higher-level functioning for the business, its owners and the family. Emphasis will be placed on the effective use of these influential structures, including essential criteria for Directors and those who serve in this critical capacity.

Ann Kinkade brings over two decades of business experience, working exclusively with business-owning families in a variety of contexts for the last 16 years.

In 2013, Ms. Kinkade launched Lucid Legacy Consulting. Her private practice includes advising family enterprises, facilitating family meetings, coaching one-on-one with executives who desire growth and change, and writing, speaking, and training on a variety of family enterprise topics to audiences of all sizes. In 2014, after 350 hours of training, she earned Certification as an Executive Coach.

Ms. Kinkade is committed to the family enterprise field as a vocation and has developed, presented, and led numerous conferences and educational seminars both domestically and internationally. Topics have included: governance, leadership, communication and conflict, succession, interpersonal and family relations, life stage development, and public policy/public image challenges faced by family firms. She has been awarded the Family Firm Institute’s (FFI) Certificate in Family Business Advising, and is also recognized as an FFI Fellow. She has served on several family business and nonprofit boards, and has authored several articles that have been published in trade magazines, Fortune Small Business and The Wall Street Journal. Ms. Kinkade has been a guest on regional radio shows and has reviewed three published family business books and numerous published articles.

Ms. Kinkade’s prior work experience includes launching Family Enterprise USA (FEUSA), the nation’s first nonprofit, membership advocacy group dedicated to addressing family enterprise public image and public policy issues. As its founding CEO and President, she executed the nation’s first public policy survey of family firms and developed the first forum for family firms to convene in Washington D.C. with federally-elected policy makers, among other organizational initiatives.

Join The Network of Family Businesses for a virtual educational Webinar on Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time, with Ann Kinkade.

For additional information email: steve@netfamilybusiness.com

Preparing Your Business Family Legacy

Aaron Moyer, Consultant

SKM Associates LLC

You’ve worked hard to create a strong, sustainable business.  You’ve been successful in building a profitable business.  But, beyond building a successful company, you want to build a legacy for your family.  Perhaps that means preparing for the next generation to take over the company.  Perhaps that means liquidating the company and using the wealth for other family legacy purposes.  Or, perhaps you have other goals in mind.  Whatever the case, it takes careful planning to make it happen.

Consider Joe Robbie, a cofounder of the Miami Dolphins.  Following Mr. Robbie’s death in 1990, a feud broke out among his children and surviving wife regarding the team and the family’s continued ownership.  Lawsuits were filed; claims of dishonesty were made among his children; and the family fought bitterly.  Mr. Robbie’s estate was reportedly worth $109 million at the time of his death.  As a result of poor planning, his estate reportedly had to pay taxes of approximately $47 million.  Additional money was required for certain debts, litigation costs, and other expenses.  The family was ultimately forced to sell the team and the stadium.  In the end, each of his children received about $6 million.  The judge overseeing the estate hearing concluded, “As much as Mr. Robbie produced for his children, I’m sure he is turning in his grave.  I’m sure this is the last thing Mr. Robbie wanted to see.”  Mr. Robbie’s oldest son seemed to concur: “This whole thing has destroyed our family.” 

The key to building your family legacy is through integrated planning.  Many business families neglect this piece as they are focused on the daily challenges of the business.  This includes, among other things, leadership succession planning, appropriate estate planning, appropriate corporate structures and documentation, coordinated financial planning (both business and personal), and communication among stakeholders. 

This type of succession planning is a process, not an event.  It also takes coordination among outside experts to ensure that they family’s ultimate goals and desires are being put in place as part of the family’s greater overall plan.  As family business advisors, SKM Associates understands the family dynamics as well as the business issues involved.

Your family’s legacy doesn’t have to end like Mr. Robbie’s.  As your business family engages this process of succession planning and building the family legacy, SKM Associates can walk along side you.  We understand the questions to ask.  We appreciate the sensitivity of the issues and conversations.  We work with the lawyers, accountants, and other subject matter experts who are needed in this process.  In short, we can help you plan and coordinate this process so that you can focus on continuing to build your business family legacy.  Give us a call today.  We want to learn about your family and talk about ways we might be able to help.

SKM Associates LLC 

215.256.5997

skmoyer@comcast.net