USF Gellert Family Business Center

A great way to take stock of your family business success is to write down everything you do. What responsibilities and critical skills are necessary to run your company? What parts of your firm play to your strengths? What are the most challenging? Writing out this “governance description” can help clarify what it takes to run your family-owned firm.

Be sure to talk about your family-business’s location throughout your website content. Each page should mention your location to help Google and other search engines understand where you physically are.

Don’t shield your next generation from discussions about the challenging aspects of your company – let them know when you lose a key client; a production error or employees who must be re-trained. This will give them a more complete understanding of what your family-owned firm means for them.

Encourage your family members to develop their skills through hands-on experience. Share your business culture so that your family understands its benefits inside and out.

While it might seem counterintuitive, there is value in having your next generation leaders explore their passions and get work experience elsewhere. Know if and when they return to the family-owned company, they will bring those skills and confidence with them, which will add to their understanding of the advantages of being family-owned.

Although your family will see you and your business struggle, be sure they also see what you love about owning your company and why they might too.

Since “cash is king”, are you tracking your businesses cash flow? How are you staying in touch with customers and clients? Where are your records of what has worked and hasn’t worked as you have grown your family-owned firm? Take time to write out a detailed plan of procedures that can work for you and your family.

If you plan to pass your company to any of your next generation relatives, consider engaging them in the business in positive ways from an early age.

Did you know your first SEO step should be to claim your Google My Business and Yelp listings? If you don’t have these listings yet, go ahead and create them! If you’re in a specialty industry that has its own popular review site, you should create or claim a listing there as well (Examples: Angie’s List, Trip Advisor, Better Business Bureau).

Invite the NextGen to share their ideas on ways to help grow your family-owned business both short and long-term. Consider how you can implement and measure their solutions to add to your company’s success.

A business that lasts through generations is one that can grow and adapt. Listen to feedback, pay attention to what’s working and what’s not, and keep improving your services over time.

It’s never too early to start planning for business succession! While the pace of such a transition will vary depending upon the company and growth conditions, owners want to intentionally include succession as they contemplate their business strategies. Since successful ownership successions happen over years, not months, early contemplation of the role siblings, children and key employees will play will help ensure business continuity.