One of the dreams of many business owners is to have one or more of their family members take over the business. How special it is for someone to create and grow their business over the years and then see it continue after they retire. Seeing the legacy of your hard work continue can be a great feeling.
This doesn’t just happen…it comes with careful business succession planning. There are some things you can do from the very beginning to set this in motion, well in advance of turning over your business.
From our Idaho business succession attorney Tom Walker, here are some ways you can potentially prepare for this legacy to be continued.
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Expose them to the business early
When your children are young and curious is a great time to get them exposed to your business.
This is a time when things are interesting and new, so it’s fun to go with mom or dad to work and see what is happening at the business. It’s also a time to help them see (and hear) why you put in so many hours because you are so passionate about it.
Staying positive about how great it is to run your own business can set a great foundation for young minds.
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Get them involved in something
Regardless of the age of your children, it’s a great idea to get your kids involved in some way to start to learn the business.
Even if they are young, have them do something to help you out in the business. It’s a great way to have them learn different aspects of the business when they can help out in different areas.
As they get older and become employees, you can give them more and more responsibility and allow them to learn more aspects of the business.
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Give them some breadth of experience with other companies
It has been said that children that work for other companies learn more than they can when they work exclusively inside the family business.
Whether this is true or not, it is usually a good idea to let them see other ways of leadership and management. Then when they come back to work in the family business they have a much greater breadth of experience about how things can be done.
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Variety is the spice of life
This is true in business as well — giving them a variety of positions to see what they excel at and enjoy.
It is often difficult to see what skill sets someone might have, including your children, if you don’t get to see them in action. But once they work in different roles, you can usually determine what they would best be suited for and where they belong in the business.
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Regardless of what you do, start with a plan
There are lots of ways to get your children involved in your business. But all of these choices have one thing in common…they need a plan.
Putting together a plan before you just try a few things will allow you to get the most out of each of these experiences.
If you aren’t comfortable putting one together, this is a great time to use a consultant or business attorney to help you design one that will work for you, your company, and your children.
Contact Generations Law Group to learn more
Hopefully, one or more of these will work for you in your business and will help you get your children involved early and in the right way so they are well positioned to take it over and continue the legacy. As you think about how this can work for you and your business, I’m sure you will have some questions. If you do, just contact Generations Law Group to ask me your questions, and I will be happy to sit down with you and discuss your best next steps.
