A common challenge for family businesses is when the rising generation have no interest in taking over. This can be especially common in sectors like manufacturing or farming which may be considered an attractive or exciting career path for younger family members to join.

There are two concerns for the family members currently in control: (a) who will look after the business? (b) who will look after the customers? Both of these are important, because family businesses don’t just want their wealth creation vehicle to continue, they also want to perpetuate their own unique relationship with their customers, which is often far deeper than ‘transactional’ and are an expression of the family’s values.

Two of the articles below tell stories of family businesses facing this very challenge. The third one asks some hard questions: do family businesses need to be perpetuated for their own sake? Is their purpose purely economic or also social? These are good questions for any family to ask itself (with at least 2 generations part of the discussion).

Consider This: If your children don’t want to take over the family business, what will become of it? What is your legacy, aside from the business?

Original articles: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-manufacturing-succession-planning-20190103-story.html, https://www.biztimes.com/2019/industries/human-resources-management/what-happens-when-theres-no-one-to-take-over-the-family-business/, https://www.businesstoday.in/opinion/columns/hera-are-some-guidelines-for-perpetuity-in-family-business/story/306242.html

As an advisor to #familyoffice and #familybusiness I often help guide #intergenerational parties through counseling and actionable generational wealth succession strategies. Now offering online talks, panels, classes at https://davidwerdiger.com

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