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Background:
Family businesses, defined as
businesses where more than one family member is involved in management and
ownership, dominate the business marketplace. In fact, estimates say that over
85% of all United States enterprises are family owned and controlled. Of all
the companies in the U.S. 15,000 are publicly owned and the remainder are small
companies with less than 500 people, and predominantly are family owned. The
National Family Business Council estimates that 12.9 million family-owned U.S.
businesses generate 60% of the gross national product and employ 40 to 50
million people.
Family business owners think long term
because they are building an investment for future generations. Interestingly,
a Family Business magazine survey indicates that family members working
in the family business would not change jobs if offered the chance and are on
average more satisfied with their work than other Americans. A sense of
accomplishment and of creating a lasting legacy, provide strong incentives for
family members.
 Some common family business traits
are:
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Family members may show more commitment
to the business because of potential ownership benefits.
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Family business owners may work in the
business out of a desire to be appreciated and loved.
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Family businesses may have difficulty
attracting desirable employees who may feel their advancement opportunities are
limited because they are not family members.
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Family relationships often play a
greater role than education or skills in deciding company management.
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Family businesses are partially
rational and partly emotional.
CEOs of family businesses remain in office an average of 24 years, four to five
times longer than CEOs of larger, public companies. This is because most only
leave the office when they die or the business dies. The single most common
reason that family businesses fail is due to lack of planning for a successful
transition. Most want to transfer the business to the next generation, but lack
the know how to do this.
The greatest challenge is separating working relationships from family
relationships.
PKF North American Network Support
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A Family Business Turnkey Program,
designed for
PKF NAN members to integrate their
marketing to family owned businesses within their overall business plan
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Several PowerPoint programs
specifically designed to use in support seminars for family business clients
and to generate family business consulting engagements with clients on
everything from succession and estate planning to how to attract, motivate, and
retain key non-family employees
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A key alliance with The Family Business
Consulting Group, well-known experts in the field
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Exclusive niche text on estate planning
and succession planning for use with brochures, proposals, and websites
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A quarterly client newsletter focusing
on family business issues, called Family Business Perspectives
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An integrated series of direct mail
communication pieces exclusively designed for
PKF NAN firms to use when
promoting consulting services
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Niche programs that include training,
skill building, and networking for the members focusing on family owned
business clients and prospects
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Periodic conference calls supporting
members' efforts with family business clients
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Networking and sharing through the use
of the
PKF North American Network Closely-Held/Family
Business E-mail list and Discussion Forums
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Access to targeted white papers,
research documents, and original articles contributed by industry experts
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