How to Safely Sell and Transition Out of a Family Business

Join Aaron Fox, Managing Director at Transworld Boston, as he shares his profound insights into the unique challenges and strategies involved in selling or exiting a family business. With personal experience in successfully selling his third-generation family business, Aaron brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. In this episode, he discusses the intricacies of keeping sales confidential, the dynamics of family involvement in the business during a sale, and the importance of succession planning within family enterprises.

Key Points

[2:30] What makes selling/exiting a family business different from traditional businesses?

[3:15] Should you keep the sale of the family business confidential?

[3:30] Aaron has unique experience in this; having had to sell his father's business that had, at one point, 18 family members working in the business.

[5:05] Do buyers want multiple family members still working in the business?

[7:35] How did Aaron's father take over the family business?

[8:50] What does a succession plan look like within a family business?

[13:25] The ability to tap into your elder family members' knowledge base is invaluable. They've been through recessions, wars, and economic uncertainty.

[18:00] Aaron has been through this process personally, so it makes advising clients in similar family businesses a lot easier because he knows some of the things they're not automatically thinking about.

[21:55] There's no better way to show accountability and ownership by opening up your wallet and buying the business.

Tip of the Day:

Write down everything! Write it all down! You're going to revisit it and you need to know what you're getting involved in.

Mentioned in this Episode

Tworld.com/locations/boston

Riw.com

Transactiontalk.com

Aaron Fox

LinkedIn

Aaron's bio

Email: aaron@tworld.com

Disclaimer:

The material on this site may be considered advertising under the rules of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. This site is solely for informational purposes and provides general information only. Nothing on this site should be construed as legal advice or consultation either generally or in a particular case. Neither the receipt nor the distribution of materials constitutes the formation of an attorney-client relationship.

Quotes

"When it's family, you always want to help. The experience of some of the senior family members; they've been through recessions, ups and downs, wars. The business survived."

"I strongly believe you should buy the business from that family. If it involves taking out an SBA loan, do it. Pay the money."

"We want to show there's a clear transition of that business and there's no better way to show ownership by opening up your wallet."