At last the final Family Business Breakfast on May 4th I mentioned a book called Family Education for Business Owning Families. The description of the book on their web site says: One of the key factors in maintaining the legacy of your family business is a good program of family education. Inevitably, wise business-owning families see the necessity of launching some form of education for family members. It establishes an interest and a connection with the business among members of the younger generations. read more»

Some families want to grow their business, which means expanding to new markets. For small businesses, that may mean adopting new professional practices. For example, my Aunt Rue had a grocery store that catered to a small, farming community. To help out farmers, she developed the practice of allowing them to "charge” groceries. She kept the charges on a handwritten list. Usually, she was repaid when crops were sold. Sometimes farmers had a bad year, and she carried forward the balance. In a few cases, she was never repaid. However, she didn’t accept credit cards. read more»

Many next generation family members are discouraged from joining or staying in the family business by the founder’s hesitance to relinquish leadership. A founder needs to both keep qualified family members committed to the family firm and to feel comfortable in transferring leadership. To do this, a leader needs to communicate clearly a willingness to relinquish control by developing and implementing a transition plan. read more»