Family businesses are the engines of the American economy. They comprise more than 80 percent of all companies and hold a majority of the continent’s wealth. They employ 60 percent of the U.S. workforce and outperform non-family firms in return on assets. But the challenges of sustaining a family business are many—and many times legendary: preserving and transferring wealth, attracting professional management, retaining family control, maintaining harmony.

 

According to Family Business Review, more than 30 percent of family businesses are passed from their founders to the second generation; about 12 percent make it to the third, and only 3 percent survive into the fourth generation and beyond. Families that actively work to convey their businesses and their values from one generation to the next are more successful than others at preserving wealth, minimizing family disputes and enduring through the generations.

How do values, ideals, lessons and desired behaviors get passed along? Usually in the form of a story—a tale of good deeds, to be sure, but also one of a family’s soul: of dreams held dear, troubles endured and hurdles overcome, of doing the right thing no matter the cost. A great story gets told over and over, ensuring that those who come later understand what the family has achieved, what it stands for, what it aspires to and what the founders sacrificed to make today possible—making it more likely that future generations will act in ways that are consistent with the family’s principles and long-term interests.

 

The team at Essex Publishing Group is expert in using the art of the story to help families manage transitions from one generation or one way of doing business to the next. We publish beautifully written, bold family business history books and other media that put our clients’ stories to work in service of an abundant future. Our books are warm, inviting and timeless. They get read and re-read, shared, learned from and handed down, generation after generation. Help ensure the continued success of your family business—and your family. Talk to Essex Publishing Group today and start putting your story to work.