Family
Volume 5 Issue 1
Family Enterprise Center A learning community ser ving the needs of the family in business.
Dave Rober tson Director
Phone:
479-788-7931
Email:
dave.robertson@uafs.edu
Website:
uafs.edu/cob/fec
Mailing Address:
Family Enterprise Center University of Arkansas - Fort Smith 5210 Grand Ave. P.O. Box 3649 Fort Smith, AR 72913-3649
Location:
Boreham Library Room 212 Corner of Grand Avenue and Waldron Road
The mission of the Family Enterprise Center is to be an educational and informational resource center for family and closely held businesses. We want to develop long-term relationships that support transgenerational leadership and wealth creation in families.
Matters Newsletter of the FEC
Director’s Message One of my favorite topics for peer group meetings is goal setting. At the beginning of each year I typically bring up the subject to a chorus of moans and groans. For some reason, not everybody likes setting goals. This year something new occurred to me regarding setting individual goals within the family business environment. It occurred to me how intertwined each participant’s goals are with the goals of others in the family business. This may have been obvious to you, but the impact of this interconnectedness was new to me and something that is worth talking about. I guess the issues that make setting short-term goals difficult within the family business are the same ones that make succession planning (long-term goals) difficult: Lack of communication from one generation to the next, a continually changing family dynamic and multiple individuals to consider. The outgoing generation has to make plans that will affect the succeeding generation. Of course the process depends greatly on what the next generation’s plans are. Members of the next generation have plenty of options, and they need time to explore and consider the options and determine what is best. So, things rock along and life happens and succession planning gets put on the back burner until the dust settles, the picture gets a little clearer. This scenario sounds reasonable and I’m sure that it happens all the time. The conflict seems to come when one side or the other starts feeling pressure to make decisions and they are not fully informed as to the other side’s goals. The succeeding generation has questions like these: Is there a place for me in the family business? What are the expectations for me? Do I need to prove myself or obtain some level of expertise? Should I be making other plans? The outgoing generation has questions too: Do my children want to work in the family business? Do they expect a position or do they have other plans? One of the goals I have for the FEC is to create opportunities to kick-start the planning process for our member families. We strive to find creative ways to help initiate the discussion or to help motivate the players to begin the planning process. Communication is key. So, my challenge to you is to initiate a conversation with your family about goals. You don’t have to resolve anything right away but you should at least communicate that you are open to talking about individual goals. Go easy and don’t expect to get everything resolved immediately. But do keep the lines of communication open.
SPONSORING MEMBERS Air Compressor Equipment Co. (ACEC) Griffin Properties Hanna Oil & Gas Company Victoria Health Care Zero Mountain, Inc.
SUPPORTING MEMBERS Alert Alarm Systems, Inc. Beall Barclay & Company, PLC, CPAs Bruce-Rogers Company Eads Brothers Furniture Hug Chevrolet Buick GMC Regions Financial Corp. Southern Personnel Mgmt. Inc., (SPMI) Weldon, Williams & Lick Williams/Crawford & Associates
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Ameriprise Financial Arvest Bank BKD CPA’s & Advisors Beall Barclay & Company, PLC, CPAs Brown-Hiller-Clark & Associates Cravens Brothers Cross, Gunter, Witherspoon & Galchus Farmers Bank First Bank Corp. Lawrence, Schluterman & Schwartz, CPA’s Regions Financial Corp.
Ownership Succession and Estate Planning – Update Ownership succession and estate planning are topics that we visit and revisit periodically as these subjects are important to all of our members. Succession planning is a process that takes several years and may have many starts, stops and changes in direction. This is true due to the ever-changing dynamics of family makeup and relations, health considerations, business viability and – probably most important – changing tax laws. At our Sept. 24 breakfast meeting, a panel of experts from BKD CPAs and Advisors will give us an overview of succession and estate planning considerations and update us on recent changes to tax laws that may affect existing or future plans. Panelist Don De Soto, partner with BKD in Fort Smith, will join us along with two other BKD experts: Chris Doolittle, tax partner, and Kayla Moschner, senior tax accountant. They will bring a wide range of expertise and perspectives to the presentation. We will reserve plenty of time for Q&A. As with all of our programs, we strongly encourage family members to attend the meeting together. Husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, and key non-family employees will all benefit from hearing this information together. Join us on Wednesday, Sept. 24, for breakfast and the presentation from BKD. We will meet in the Latture Conference Room located in the Business and Industrial Institute at the corner of North 50th and Grand Avenue. Breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m. The program will begin at 7:50 a.m. and wrap up by 9 a.m.
Future Dates Nov. 11 – Using life insurance to fund estate planning and succession planning. Michael Clinton with Brown-Hiller-Clark & Associates will present a breakfast program about the many ways life insurance can be utilized in the family business. Clinton, a financial services adviser, specializes in estate planning, longevity planning, executive compensation planning and business succession planning. Dec. 10 – Christmas Breakfast meeting with Sunjay Nath. International motivational speaker Sunjay Nath comes to us through Weldon, Williams & Lick, which is hosting him for a series of meetings with key personnel and has generously offered to make him available to the FEC learning community. Nath will share thoughts on leadership and performance.
UPCOMING EVENTS Wednesday, Sept. 24
Summer Quarterly Breakfast
Ownership Succession and Estate Planning Don De Soto, Chris Doolittle and Kayla Moschner BKD CPAs & Advisors
Developing Leadership Skills – An Oppor tunity
7:30-9 a.m. Latture Conference Center Business and Industrial Institute
No one is a born leader. Becoming an effective leader requires both training and experience.
Tuesday, Nov. 11
Each fall, the Center for Business and Professional Development at UAFS offers a wonderful opportunity designed especially for business leaders seeking to enhance their leadership skills. Human Relations and Interpersonal Development is a 16-week course that focuses on leadership skills including the ability to communicate, to understand human needs, to motivate others, to use authority and to increase group productivity. Topics include: • Working with different personality types • Communication – written, verbal and presentation • Coaching • Conflict resolution
• Employment law • Microsoft PowerPoint and Word • Organizational effectiveness • Time management and delegation • Transformational leadership
Several FEC member companies, including Weldon, Williams & Lick and First National Bank have utilized this training extensively. Cap Vick, a sales representative for Weldon, Williams & Lick, has attended this course and states: “This class teaches the skills and knowledge that future leaders and business owners need to know about what is acceptable in the work environment. It also helps us to be able to distinguish the different personality types, what drives them and how best to communicate with them.” This course – offered during the fall semester only – has two weekly schedule options, both on Mondays: 8 a.m.-noon and 4-8 p.m. Classes begin Aug. 18. Tuition is $900 for the first employee and $450 for each additional employee. Contact Dave Robertson at 788-7931 for registration information.
Fall Quarterly Breakfast
Life Insurance as a Tool for Ownership Succession and Estate Planning Michael Clinton Brown-Hiller-Clark & Associates 7:30-9 a.m. Latture Conference Center Business and Industrial Institute
Wednesday, Dec. 10
2014 FEC Christmas Breakfast
Special Presentation by Sunjay Nath Thoughts on Leadership and Performance Special Program to Wrap Up the Year Sponsored by Weldon, Williams & Lick 7:30-9 a.m. Latture Conference Center Business and Industrial Institute
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5210 Grand Ave. P.O. Box 3649 Fort Smith, AR 72913-3649
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Family Enterprise
Center
A learning community serving the needs of the family in business.
479-788-7931 uafs.edu/cob/fec