Seven keys for family business successors

Building a family business that sustains multiple generations is highly rewarding, but it can be a real challenge for both existing and emerging leaders.

Maintaining harmony and establishing healthy boundaries between work and family life is complex, so here are seven rules for successors to keep family and business separate when taking over from their first-generation family member.

Complete legal and operational planning – and set boundaries – up front. 

Investing in transition planning saves time, money and headaches in the future.

At work, follow the same legal and financial practices as if you were buying a business from a professional contact. Establish a clear and sustainable leadership structure early on, along with a formal operating agreement and succession plan.

At home, agree on rules such as limiting business talk during family events. Your performance, ideas and relationships will benefit from the chance to step away – and your significant other will thank you, too.

Read the complete article in the Puget Sound Business Journal here.