You started your business 30 years ago with a few family members and now you have a 100-employee company and your adult children are actively involved.
Mentoring, trust and a deep knowledge of the business have been the keys to a smooth transition from one generation to the next. One of the benefits of your children growing up around the business is learning the business from its patriarch. Seeing the business through their eyes, their values, work ethic and love of the business.
Starting from their high school years, your children can begin to learn every aspect of the family business. While these are invaluable lessons, higher education should be encouraged such as business, accounting & finance.
Learning the business from the ground up
Transition processes are some of the most important and delicate challenges in the life of an entrepreneurial business.
One thing that can make the transition process easier is to begin to hand major decision-making to the children gradually. The key is to let them problem-solve on their own. It’s important for them to learn from their mistakes while maintaining their confidence in making decisions.
Not every decision can be made by family
Family-run businesses face the same questions that most entrepreneurs have to face at a certain point: How to make sure to have the right management structure in place for growth? Consider engaging a management consultant for help. An outside consultant can help you make the difficult decisions necessary to grow your business.
Out of the process also flows the need to hire a controller—mainly to find ways to save on costs, develop departmental budgets and better understand margins. Consider introducing performance reviews for employees with a focus on developing their skills.
Most of all remember we all hope that our children will take over the company. But just because they share the last name doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the best for the job. They will have to prove that they are the best leaders for the company.
Leave a Reply