UPPER MIDWEST FAMILY BUSINESS ADVISORY GROUP
Overview
The Upper Midwest Family Business Advisory Group provides education and networking opportunities for professionals dedicated to serving family businesses with all their needs in a client-focused, collaborative manner. The Group brings together members with diverse professional backgrounds in the interest of sharing information and learning from each other’s experiences.
More than 80 percent of the companies in the US are family businesses. Mixing family and business generates many unique challenges and uncertainties which, when combined with the normal challenges of running a business, can be overwhelming without the right counsel. These additional issues can (and often do) increase the risk to the sustainability, growth, and transition of a family’s business.
Current trends indicate that the myriad of issues arising from the interplay of business and family are going to intensify in the coming 10 years, and family enterprises are not nearly as prepared to address them as they are to handle the normal issues of business. Consider:
- Nearly 60 percent of majority owners are 55 or older, nearly 30 percent are 65 or older;
- 85 percent desire to pass ownership to the next generation of the family;
- 75 percent expect family members to hold at least one key management position;
- Less than 30 percent have succession plans;
- Fewer than 40 percent have identified successors.
Programming
The Upper Midwest FBA will meet the first Tuesday of October, December, February, and May from 3:00 to 5:30 at Fredrikson & Byron’s Minneapolis office. Networking takes place a half hour before and after an interactive learning program.
Programming focuses on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to help family businesses address business and personal issues that are often intertwined. Activities involve working with professionals from a variety of disciplines so attendees learn from each other while expanding their professional network, all to better serve family business clients.
Membership
There is no cost to join. The only obligation and prerequisites to join are that:
- you currently are providing services to family businesses or their families;
- you are willing to network and collaborate with other professionals serving family businesses;
- you are willing to commit to participating in the four annual meetings; and
- you work in a manner consistent with the operating principles and code of conduct of the group.
If you are interested in joining, please click here to fill out the membership application and forward it to Felicia Evans. You’ll then be contacted about membership. If you know of a professional who you think would like to be part of this group, please forward the application to him or her. If you have questions or would like additional information, please contact Tom Judd or Peter Hatinen.