Phase 01
Clarify intent and timeline
Before structure, get honest about what the owner actually wants — and when.
Family Business Succession
What you built deserves a future.
A successful company is only half the challenge. Passing it to the next generation without damaging family relationships, creating resentment, or losing momentum is where most families struggle.
“
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In Their Words
“What got us here isn't what's going to carry us forward — and I'm not sure I trust just any advisor to understand what makes a family business different.”
SECOND-GENERATION OWNER
01 / Why this matters
Family businesses carry the American economy — and most are unprepared to pass it on.
54%
of U.S. gross domestic product — $7.7 trillion
59%
of U.S. private-sector employment — 83.3 million jobs
78%
of all new job creation in the United States
32.4M
family businesses operating nationwide
The preparedness gap
61%
of U.S. family businesses have no formal succession plan in place.
NORTH AMERICA FAMILY BUSINESS REPORT
Sixty percent of a family business owner's wealth may sit inside a business with no written plan for what happens next.
Sources: Conway Center for Family Business; Family Enterprise USA; World Economic Forum
What we hear in the first meeting
The real succession challenge isn't the term sheet.
No formalized path for leadership transition
A next generation in the business but not ready to lead it
Decisions made informally — no governance, no tiebreaker
Unspoken family conflict quietly shaping the business
02 / The blueprint
Seven phases of a succession plan that holds.
A transition has two jobs to get right at once — the company that runs today, and the family that owns it for generations.
Phase 02
Assess successor readiness
Willingness is not the same as readiness. Evaluate both, candidly.
Phase 03
Value the business and model the transfer
You cannot plan a transition around a number nobody has verified.
Phase 04
Put governance and agreements in writing
Documents do not create alignment — but alignment without documents does not survive.
Phase 05
Align the family, not just the org chart
Most transitions fail on relationships, not on tax strategy.
Phase 06
Transfer authority in stages
A handoff is a sequence of real decisions, not an announcement.
Phase 07
Protect the plan and revisit it
A succession plan written once and filed away is a document, not a plan.
03 / Readiness check
Ten statements. Count how many are true today.
- 01We have a written succession plan that names a successor and a date.
- 02Ownership transfer and leadership transfer are planned as separate decisions.
- 03We have an independent, current valuation of the business.
- 04A buy-sell agreement is in place and reflects that valuation.
- 05The successor has a documented development plan with measurable milestones.
- 06The family has met formally, with a facilitator, about the transition.
- 07Family governance, policies and decision rights are clear and aligned-to.
- 08Non-active family members understand how they will be treated.
- 09Employees and key customers know the direction of the business.
- 10The plan has been reviewed in the last twelve months.
0–3 true
Exposed
Start with intent, timeline, and a family conversation.
4–7 true
Pieces, not a plan
Sequence and document what already exists.
8–10 true
Ahead
Focus on staged authority transfer and annual review.
04 / Three Ways Forward
Start at the level of support your family business needs.
Webinar
The Handoff
A roadmap for ownership transition and management succession in family businesses.
Free virtual working session to get you started. Bring your curiosity; leave with a one-page action plan that fits your unique situation.
October 23 · 1:00 PM EST (60 mins)
Register FreeFive-Week Cohort
The Succession Planning Accelerator
From someday to a dated, decided, documented plan — in five weeks.
Real tools, real language and real decisions you can put to work the week you learn them.
First cohort launches October · 30 seats
Apply Now for Pricing and DetailsRetained Advisory
Coaching and Consulting Packages
Three tiers of commitment and on-going partnership
Immersive, in person, and crafted for one client at a time. We take a limited number each year, on purpose.
Common Questions
What owners ask us first.
When should family business succession planning start?
Five to ten years before the intended transition. Ownership transfer structures, successor development, and family alignment each take years — compressing them into a single year is what turns a transition into a crisis.
What should a business succession plan template include?
At minimum: the owner's intent and timeline, a named successor and development plan, a current valuation, a funded buy-sell agreement, governance and family-employment policies, a staged transfer of authority, and an emergency succession provision.
What if no family member wants to run the business?
That is a valid and common outcome. The plan then centers on preserving family ownership with professional management, or on preparing the company for an outside sale or ESOP on the family's terms rather than under pressure.
How is a succession plan different from a family constitution?
A succession plan governs one transition. A family constitution governs how the family makes decisions across every future transition — values, governance, employment, ownership, and conflict resolution.
Start here
Your transition deserves more than a document.
Tell us where things stand today. We'll help you identify the conversation, decision, or structure that needs to come next.