Many estate plans have one exceptional asset, a family owned business. Therefore a major part of your estate planning will be training family owned business leaders . Present owners must teach company values to the next generation of family business leaders every day. Your estate planning goal as an small family business owner is to train future leaders so they have the skill to create greater success than the present owner of the family business has already attained.
Train. Train early. Train often. Train consistently and train present leadership as you train future leaders.
In family situations great children sometimes make poor friends and partners, or they have a synergy that makes the sum of the parts greater than the parts themselves. As the present business leader you always need to have your eye on the future because in twenty short-years your 10 year-old will be approaching the prime of career and business life.
The longer you have to find and train the people who will become the future leaders of your family business the greater success you will have. Success in educating who you have chosen to lead your family’s business ;to bring them and the business to its full potential – is not something that just happens.
In a small business there is the same need for understanding the leader’s responsibilities and obligations as in a larger or complex business. Leadership qualities only come from the culture employed in training chosen successors as to what the next leader must do to continue the business’s success.
The sooner the decision is made to keep the business in the family as opposed to selling it to a third party the sooner the present leaders can begin the process of training possible successors, to continue the business’s mission, carry on its values and continue to grow the business.
