Did you know family businesses comprise 80-90% of all businesses in America? Family owned companies are responsible for 60% of total U.S. employment, 78% of all new jobs, and 65% of all wages paid. There are 1.2 million husband and wife teams running a family business. You know I love that. Let’s hear it for the family owned business!

Even though this is all wonderful, the truth is the average lifespan of a family owned business is 24 years. That may seem long to you, but it could be longer if there were certain issues that were taken into consideration earlier on. The truth is only 1/3 of all family businesses successfully make the transition to the second generation. A Pricewaterhous Cooper’s world wide survey of over 1600 family businesses found that 27% expect to change hands in the next five years, but 47% of those had no succession plan. So this begs the question….

What are your plans of succession?

This is definitely a process. Not something you wake up one day and decide, “Okay Junior, it’s all yours now.”

Most people think of transferring the financial portion, but what about the business philosophy, values, ideal clients, target market, and community involvement? Will the next generation be on board with that? And if they aren’t, do you care? What type of person do you want running your family owned company, which more than likely has your name attached to it?

In my coaching, interviewing and research, it has become abundantly clear that most of the family owned companies I talk to have no idea who will run the show when they decide to retire. Are you one of those? If so, take the time to consider getting these things in place:

• Consider who you are wanting to run the show for you – does their style reflect you and your company’s culture?
• Create a Strategic Business Plan – make sure your company has a sustainable business model that can be followed by new leadership?
• Create a Succession Plan
• Create an Estate Plan – not just a will
• How will the management of your company respond to your successor?

And the all important – what are you going to do when you pass the company on?

This of course is only the tip of the iceberg on this topic – but it gets you thinking. You don’t have to be Mrs. Field’s Cookies or any other large family owned company to be thinking of succession planning. Your family owned, couple owned business is just as important than any other company. You are in charge. Start putting the pieces in place to make sure your company goes on and you are properly compensated if you do pass it on.

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Want to Learn How To Take Your Family Owned Business To The Next Level?

Join me for the Soulmate Proprietors Webinar Series

If you are like many business people today, your spouse (whether officially or unofficially) is likely deeply involved in the functioning or decision-making of your business. Yet inexplicably, there is little help available for the millions of couples who run businesses together.

Soulmate Proprietors shows couples how to accomplish running a business while still enjoying the respect, love and admiration that brought them together in the first place.

Couples can get past their self-doubt – past the fear – of running a business together. This resource book teaches them how to address those fears and the inevitable hiccups that occur. Running a business and pursuing their dreams should be fun and exciting, not scary. Millions of couples run businesses together and they do it successfully every day. Soulmate Proprietors is the just wake-up call lucky couples need to turn their business into the next runaway success!

Soulmate Proprietors Coaching Webinar Series Schedule

July 1, 2011 – Day 1:

Welcome, Introductions, Schedule

Chapter 1 – In It To Win It

• What is your business going to provide?
• What are you passionate about?

July 8, 2011 – Day 2:

Chapter 2: Divide and Conquer

• Who is in charge of sales and marketing?
• Who pays the bills and makes the schedule?

Chapter 3: The Snowball of Crabbiness

• Does something in your business happen on a regular basis that stresses you out?
• How do you resolve it if your crabbiness or anger carries over to the next day?

July 22, 2011 – Day 3:

Chapter 4: The Boardroom to The Bedroom

• How do you move into spouse mode so you can connect at the end of the day?
• What types of activities could you plan to keep the spark alive?

Chapter 5: So Who is Picking Up The Kids

• Are you able to change your schedule to accommodate your kids?
• What variety of ways can you make your kids a part of your company?

July 29, 2011 – Day 4:

Chapter 6: Fringe Benefits

• What extra benefits do you enjoy being self-employed?
• If your family were to suffer a tragedy, who is in charge of changing the schedule to deal with it?

Chapter 7: Happily Ever After

• Why do you get up to do this every day?
• Do you have a hand picked board of directors for your business?

All of these topics and more will be discussed in my webinar series. Don’t miss out on this excellent opportunity to take your family owned business to the next level!

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This is point number four given in the recent blog post by Lauren Stiller Rikleen, president of the Rikleen Institute for Strategic Leadership titled: Eight Lessons Millennial Women Can Learn From Elizabeth Taylor. You can read the entire list here.

I have to admit, I was a little sad when I heard the news of her passing. Not really being a fan of her film career, I was a bit young, I was always a fan of what she was up to. Intrigued early on, probably because my mother loved watching her, I was more intrigued with how she seemed to be everywhere. And I wasn’t wrong. I was on the treadmill this weekend and listening to various talk show hosts speculate how much her estate is worth. Capitalizing on her star power, Elizabeth Taylor literally still has money coming in the door from real estate she owns, perfume sales and jewelry collections that are still very popular. Who can forget the early White Diamonds commercials? And the one fragrance that was always in a stunningly beautiful purple bottle. My mom always bought that one. It made her feel special.

And there is the connection that I am talking about. Not only did she make a lot of money with multiple streams of income, but she made connections. I truly believe that is the only way you will succeed in business, and in life. Whatever road you are traveling on, whatever path you choose to take in your career, focus on the connections you will make, and how they can help sustain not only your business, but your life.

I know I will.

7325 Marine Road

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7325 Marine Road

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Welcome to the first seminar in the “It’s Time for Your Business to Grow Up” educational series:

It’s Time for Your Social Media to Grow Up

Social media has taken the world by storm in only a few short years. Due to the rapid pace of the changes in social media technology and trends, many business professionals are having a hard time keeping up. In this seminar we will:

• Identify the major mistakes that are costing businesses time, opportunities, and profit
• Explain the repercussions of a poorly planned or executed social media strategy
• Review the major social media platforms on the market: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
• Show how to leverage these platforms successfully to increase your business

Seating is limited. Sign up today!

Business people today are commonly making many mistakes due to outdated or inefficient business concepts and technologies. This is not unexpected – much has changed in the world of business and technology over the last several years. However, most small businesses people have no resource to turn to for information on current business trends or the latest technologies. This new series of seminars will help entrepreneurs in all industries gain the knowledge necessary to better compete in today’s fast-changing business environment.

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One in particular that I recommend is Kikolani.com by Kristi Hines. She is full of wonderful information, tips, tricks and how tos on making your blog a success, as well as some great business tips.

I especially enjoyed her post, which oddly enough was a guest post, on how to get through writers block. I hope you find this as helpful as I did.

For those of you that watch the show “Survivor”, you understand the importance of forming alliances with others to further your objective. This is no different in the business world as well. Often overlooked, or simply just not part of the plan, alliances can be a great asset to you and your company. Think about who you currently do business with, who is a great source of referrals with you already, and go from there.

Set up a meeting with people you already know, like and trust. See if they want to be in the inner circle.

Schedule regular “check ins” to make sure you are all on the same page promoting each other. Make sure you are all aware of any new services, tips or advice you are able to offer your clients.

For those of you that are purely online, a great article was posted on the Social Media Examiner today about creating these same kind of relationships online, and how to do it. Click here to read more about that.

Above all, understand the importance of many voices in unison being stronger than just your one. You don’t want to get booted off the island just when it is getting good.
Your tribe has spoken.

Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: Non-Boring, Fluff-Free Strategies for Marketing and Promoting Your Business, is officially on sale (everywhere books are sold).

Why is this book great? He has captured what it takes for the small business owner to be successful, establish a following, get more clients and be known in their niche as the best. This book is full of fabulous advice for any small business owner.

I suggest you get to reading.

Read more: http://blog.therisetothetop.com/2010/12/smarter-faster-cheaper-launches-today/#ixzz17Yw8bYex