New and Available in January! Defusing the Family Business Time Bomb

A new book by Jenifer Bartman and Evelyn Jacks will be released next week by Knowledge Bureau. It addresses a common family secret that plagues millions of Canadians from coast to coast: what to do with the family business time bomb at a time when boomers are contemplating retirement.

The answer lies in the family’s ability to embrace change and work with purpose to build and transition a company that is scalable and has value beyond the original owner. But at the same time, it is important to focus on the family relationships that will either suffer, become an impediment, or thrive along the way.

It’s an explosive issue for a number of reasons. Even the most promising and profitable company could perish when the investment in the family business is marred by family conflict. Worse, this is not the only factor at play. While it is quite normal for a typical family business to be inundated with challenge and change, seldom have so many potential threats been evident at the same time:

• Demographic factors: aging Baby Boomer owners have a limited number of potential successors.
• Disruption of key industries: new and complex business models, and rapid digital/technological advancement, could reduce valuations and make transition to new owners either irrelevant or much more costly.
• Dramatic change in the global economy: this makes strategic planning difficult, increases competition, and could escalate the cost of doing business, thereby shrinking profit margins.
• Uncertain financial times: complex tax changes, restrictions to family income sprinkling, and a new clawback of the small business deduction all impact profitability, investment opportunities, and access to capital. This challenge could be especially difficult for young entrepreneurs or successors.
• Typical family business problems: conflict, apathy, sudden or emerging illness, or control issues can affect relationships, decision-making and, ultimately, the health of both entities: the family and the company.

Whether you are a long-time business owner getting ready to transition out, or a new entrant to the “gig economy” poised to grow and expand, you will appreciate this book for its contemporary and practical advice. It brings a common-sense approach to the challenges associated with building a company that has the potential to be sold to someone else in the future.

Defusing the Family Business Time Bomb is by two experienced authors and business leaders who have helped the owners, executives, investors, and professional advisors with whom they work to prepare for the most explosive challenge in a generation: the retirement of the Baby Boomers and transition of their companies to a new guard, who face pitfalls and opportunities of their own.

Jenifer Bartman, CPA, CA, CMC, MFA, is the Founder and Principal of Jenifer Bartman Business Advisory Services, assisting companies in transition (early, financing, growth, and succession stages) with growth strategies, financing readiness, strategic/business planning, and executive coaching. Jenifer is well known for her venture capital and early stage financing expertise, having been an executive in the industry and an advisor to many young companies. She appears on the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel. She tweets @JeniferInc.

Evelyn Jacks, MFA, DFA-Tax Services Specialist, is one of Canada’s most prolific financial authors, having penned over 50 books on personal tax and family wealth management, many of them bestsellers. A well-known tax and financial commentator, she has twice been named one of Canada’s Top 25 Women of Influence. Evelyn is also President of Knowledge Bureau, a national educational institute focused on professional development of tax and financial advisors. Follow her on twitter @evelynjacks, and here in Knowledge Bureau Report.

Pre-publication copies may be reserved now online, or by calling 1.866.953.4769. Or get your copies at the CE Summits which start next week – pre-order to be sure we don’t run out.

Personal Finance ISBN 978-1-77297-065-4 CDN $29.95 6x9 184 pages. Available January 2019

COPYRIGHT OWNED BY KNOWLEDGE BUREAU INC., 2019.
UNAUTHORIZED REPRODUCTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IS PROHIBITED.

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