Every business needs a succession plan. We help you create one that focuses on the transition before the transaction, ensuring your business remains viable and your family relationships stay intact. Whether your priorities are family legacy, employee security, financial returns, or your future role in the company, JACO Advisory Group helps family-owned, closely-held, middle-market businesses navigate succession based on what actually makes them successful—business viability, leadership development, and family dynamics.
Succession Planning
Succession Planning Services for Family Business Owners
The Reality of Family Business Succession
The stakes are higher than most family business owners realize:
- Only 30% of family businesses survive to the second generation, 12% to the third, and just 3% to the fourth generation
- 42-55% of CEOs nearing retirement have not chosen a successor
- Only one-third of family businesses have a formal succession plan
However, when succession planning is done intentionally, most businesses report better post-succession results: higher profits, increased market share, and growth in employment.
The Benefits of Succession Planning for Family-Owned Businesses
As a family business owner, your company isn’t just a business—it’s your family’s legacy, your employees’ livelihoods, and an integral part of your community. Proper family business succession planning helps you:
Prepare the next generation for leadership responsibilities through systematic development
Preserve family relationships by establishing clear roles and expectations along with fair ownership structures
Maintain business viability during ownership and leadership transitions
Create multiple exit pathways so you have maximum flexibility throughout the transition period
Protect company culture and create a high degree of certainty and stability for your employees
Leverage the expertise of legal, tax, and wealth advisors to ensure a comprehensive succession plan is developed and executed
Convert business wealth into retirement income without jeopardizing operations—critical for families who have the majority of their wealth tied up in their company
Why Choose JACO for Planning and Succession
Family Business Advisors Who Understand What's at Stake
Business Owner Experience
We’re not professional consultants—our senior advisors are business leaders who have owned or operated successful companies. We understand the unique dynamics of family businesses and build succession plans that account for these complexities.
Objective Perspective
Family businesses need outside voices willing to have tough conversations. We tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear, helping you address real issues before they jeopardize relationships or business performance.
Transition Focus
Working in conjunction with legal, tax, and wealth professionals, we focus on the value creation and strategic planning that makes succession actually work—developing capabilities, creating systems, and preparing for multiple scenarios.
Team Coordination
We quarterback the entire succession planning process, working with your legal, tax, and wealth advisors. Don’t have these advisors? We can help you assemble the right professional team for your family’s situation.
Committed Partnership
We’re not transactional consultants who disappear after delivering a report. We work alongside you, as needed, to ensure your succession plan actually gets implemented, adapting our involvement to what you need for success.
From Good Intentions to Successful Succession
Passing a family business to the next generation requires more than good intentions—it demands early planning, clear expectations, and a structured approach. Future leaders should earn their position through education, outside experience, and working their way up within the company. The most successful transitions involve comprehensive planning, objective advisors who can navigate family dynamics, clearly defined core values, and open communication among all stakeholders. The ultimate goal is building lasting value for the family, not simply providing employment. Learn more about our approach to successful succession planning.
It Starts With Understanding Your Business and Family Dynamics
Before we can plan your succession, we need to understand what you’re passing on. Is this business worth transitioning? Are the next-generation leaders ready? Do you have the systems and controls necessary for a smooth transition?
JACO collaborates with you to answer five fundamental questions:
Is the Business Viable?
We assess financial health, market position, operational effectiveness, and growth potential. You can’t build a succession plan on a weak foundation.
Are the People Ready?
We evaluate leadership capabilities, development needs, and family dynamics to determine what preparation is required for a successful transition.
Is Your Company’s Legal Structure Aligned With Your Goals?
We assess how your ownership structure affects succession options and help align it with your transition goals, creating win-win outcomes for all parties.
What Are Your Options?
We help you explore multiple pathways—family succession, management buyout, sale, or alternative structures such as an ESOP—keeping options open until the right path becomes clear.
Do You Have Emergency Plans?
Every key position needs both a long-term development plan and a “break glass in case of emergency” backup. We help you identify who could step in immediately if something unexpected happens to critical leaders.
Frequently Asked Questions About Family Business Succession Planning
How is succession planning for family-owned businesses different?
Family businesses face unique challenges that don’t exist in corporate settings. Unlike many other companies, your business decisions affect family relationships, and family dynamics impact business operations. You’re also balancing the interests of family members, employees, and the community while trying to preserve the values and traditions that made your business successful. Each generation brings different perspectives and goals, which can create conflict without proper planning. We help you navigate these complexities while keeping both your business and family relationships intact.
How early should we start succession planning?
The best time to start succession planning is now. Successful business succession planning can take time to execute properly—developing next-generation leaders, implementing systems, and optimizing estate planning and tax strategies all require significant lead time.
What if family members aren’t interested in the business?
This is more common than you might think. We help you explore alternatives like non-family leadership, ESOPs, management buyouts, or sales while preserving family wealth and values. Sometimes the best succession plan doesn’t involve family members in operations.
How do we handle family members who aren’t ready to lead?
This requires honest assessment and difficult conversations. We help families distinguish between ownership and management, creating structures that preserve family wealth while putting the most qualified leaders in charge of operations. We can help with the hard conversations between generations.
What if we’re not wealthy enough for succession planning?
Many family business owners don’t think of themselves as wealthy, even when their companies have significant value. You might still be watching every dollar and focused on day-to-day survival, but if you’ve built a viable business, you likely have more assets than you realize. The bigger your business becomes, the more critical succession planning becomes—not just for preserving wealth, but for protecting your employees, your family’s financial security, and everything you’ve worked hard to build. Whether your business generates $10 million or $100 million in revenue, the stakes are too high to leave succession to chance.
How do you handle family conflicts during succession planning?
Family business conflicts often stem from years of unclear expectations and unaddressed issues. We have experience helping families separate business decisions from family emotions, even in highly charged situations. Our role is to facilitate the difficult conversations that families often avoid—about capability, compensation, and realistic expectations—while ensuring both the company and family relationships survive the transition process.
Do you work with our existing advisors or bring in new ones?
Effective succession planning for business owners requires multiple disciplines working together. JACO adapts to your situation–some clients have great existing teams that just need coordination. Others need help finding new advisors who better understand their goals and challenges. We’re team players who work with whoever serves your interests best.
Ready to Start Your Family Business Succession Planning?
Protect what you’ve built for your family—your business deserves a proper succession plan to navigate transitions smoothly and preserve what matters most.
Many business owners feel overwhelmed by succession planning. That’s normal. We often begin with simple conversations over coffee—no commitments, just education and exploration of your options.
Remember: succession planning for family business success requires both strategic thinking and tactical execution. We help you with both, ensuring your family business succeeds across generations.
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