“How do I resolve this issue? If I don’t address this, there will be a mess after I’m gone, but if I open up this can of worms, my life may be hell and my family will be in a uproar.” I asked this frustrated dealer if he was paying his sons the same amount [...]
I am commonly asked "How do I motivate my children to choose a career in my business?" Motivation is the ability to influence others to take action. Exterior influence, both positive and negative can generate short-term influence. However, as soon as the source of the influence is no longer present, the motivation begins to dissipate. My [...]
If you’ve been thinking about succession planning, you already know there’s a lot to consider. Dealing with estate minimization, tax avoidance, gifting, buy/sell agreements, etc., etc., can give people major headaches. And then there’s the human element associated with the transition of wealth, family leadership, and business concerns from one generation to the next, where [...]
Sometimes when my partners and I make a presentation at a national conference for one group or another, we go through a skit in which members of successive generations go back and forth over which generation should “call the shots.” It ends with the younger generation member saying something along the lines of, “Dad, when [...]
As a succession planner I am avidly seeking to motivate business owners to take action. Unfortunately, I am not batting 1,000 due to a variety of reasons. Beyond my personality quirks and communication shortcomings, there are many business owners who do not want to become engaged. Irrespective of my attempt to demonstrate how "succession planning [...]
A client and I were walking back to my car when she asked, “When should we start to get concerned about our business reputation?” After a few seconds of thought, I answered “Well, if you wait until you have one, it could be too late. So I suppose the best time to be concerned about [...]
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Business structuring deals with the mechanical aspect of how your business operates. The structure of your business has a direct impact upon items such as business taxation, control of business ownership, gift and estate tax on business transfers, and shareholder access to cash flow. As a business owner, it is critical that you or an [...]
Partnerships are curious animals. Two or more people start off with a great idea; decide there’s some synergistic benefits in working together; shake hands; and start off with the very best of intentions. And then everyone lives happily ever after. In a handful of circumstances that fairy tale really does happen. The operative word [...]
As I embark on my first article as a member of The Rawls Group, I figured I might as well throw myself into the deep end and entertain a topic that is undoubtedly surrounded by controversy: religion. The recent changes occurring in the leadership of the Catholic Church have not only fascinated me, but have [...]
