Families in business and owners of privately-held companies share similar issues, not only with colleagues in their industry, but also with other family-owned, privately held businesses across all industries.

Beyond the traditional finance, operations, and technology issues, business families face challenges that are distinctive to their situation as a business family. As they build a legacy together, it is important to understand and appreciate the distinctive impact of their family’s philosophy and values on the company’s success.

Interestingly, while most businesses go through a predictable organizational life cycle, a family business has the unique opportunity of repeating the life cycle as each succeeding generation enters into the business and begins the process anew.

The first generation grapples with obstacles common to all start-ups. The founder wears just about every hat in the early years, identifying potential customers, generating sales, managing cash flow, and negotiating with vendors. As the business grows, the founder is able to delegate more duties, hire and train staff, and become more strategic and less hands-on over the years.

But what about future generations? They will not have the burdens common to a newly emerging company, but frequently the second and third generations have a different vision than that of the founders. Each generation, in turn, exerts a strong influence as they lead the company, often taking it in new directions.

While many CPA firms claim they “specialize” in the privately-held, family-owned business sector, they all appear to offer much the same services. At Sobel & Co., we have developed a distinctive, process-driven model that centers on the privately-held/family owned business, helping to guide our clients through each stage of their business life cycle. Through this approach we incorporate and leverage the diverse technical expertise and business acumen of our professionals in order to address all facets and issues facing our clients.

Click on a PHASE to learn more about a family business life cycle model.

                                              Follow us on Twitter! Click Here

 

To discuss your family business concerns and opportunities, please feel free to contact our team:

Barbara Semple, CPA, Member of the Firm
Director of Sobel & Co. Privately-held/Family Business Services                  

Matthew Newell, Manager

Harold Sobel, CPA, Member of the Firm

Glenn Taylor, CPA, Member of the Firm

At Sobel & Co., the Focus is on You

It is our intent to deliver the resources each family in business needs, providing you with access to a wide range of tools and information.

Click here to take the Sobel & Co. Family Business Self-Assessment Test

Click here to download the MassMutual Financial Group “American Family Business Survey” results

Click here to register for the Sobel & Co. Financial Executives’ Roundtable

Click here to download the Laird Norton Tyee Family Business Survey

Click here to download Foresight, our quarterly business newsletter 

Click here to learn how Women in Business benefit from working with Sobel & Co

Articles of interest:

"Having the Family Name as Your Brand"

Family owned businesses have outperformed their public counterparts by as much as 158% over a ten year period.  How effectively are you using the family brand in marketing to your customer base?  The attached article talks about some well known family brands that are effectively using the "family" name in the marketplace.  Test your knowledge of which companies are family owned - www.imd.ch/brandtest.    Click here to read the whole article.

Helpful links:

www.rothman-fdu.org

www.familybusinessmagazine.com

www.ffi.org (Family Firm Institute)

www.dvfbc.com

Proud Sponsors of the Fairleigh Dickinson Rothman Institute for Entrepreneurship's Family Business Forum

 

Join the Sobel & Co. Mailing List Receive Valuable updates and Information Enter your email address below to join our mailing list (you may opt out at any time), or contact Sally Glick directly via e-mail at  sally.glick@sobel-cpa.com or by calling 973-994-9494, ext. 159: Name: Company: Email Address: