taking over the family business?

[jameswift]

Hey for all of you that have parents that are thinking of either passing the business on, there is a really good book called "Every Family's Business".

It talks mostly about very large businesses but applies to small businesses as well. The book essentially promotes selling the family business and using the proceeds for the next generation to create and build their own business, to follow their own passion or dreams.

Often, business owners get upset with that idea since their business is their baby, they worked so hard to build it up, but the truth is, why did you do it?

You don't get into business to lose money, you make money, and it usually makes sense to take the money and sell it, have an exit strategy. The book also says that if the children are not willing to buy the business from dad and mom, they don't deserve it and there is a 97% change they'll run it into the ground and wind up with nothing.

[cctw]

have you guys ever considered the risk of owning your own business though?

Yes you make good money when the business is good, but a turn south in the economy could mean you can go bankrupt in as short as a few weeks or a month.
The results are like 2 extremes of a spectrum