Meat+Poultry - March 2023 - 24

FAMILY BUSINESS STRATEGIES
" Those that had
a more agile
and flexible
approach
probably
didn't see the
same degree
of attrition
and labor
force leakage. "
- MARTHA SULLIVAN
This is especially true of stakeholders that
are not involved in daily operations. Some
financial decisions made to secure the business
can present a threat to family harmony, for
example, because a family member who
also happens to have a spouse that is also a
shareholder, may not understand what's going
on with the company financially.
" They start to get suspicious, " Sullivan
said. " So, the financial systems, the financial
transparency, information sharing and
education if it's appropriate, are really, really
good strategies for folks to consider and put
into place. "
SECOND THOUGHTS
Another trend Sullivan noted is that the leading
generation wants out of the business sooner
rather than later.
" I've been a certified exit planner now for a
number of years, " she said, " and even back in
the teens, the 20-teens, there was discussion
about this big 'silver tsunami' coming through
business ownership, and all the baby boomers
when they hit 65 were miraculously going to
say, I'm out and want to sell.
" That didn't happen because once people
got beyond the Great Recession of 2008
and bounced back from that they're sitting
pretty, happy and sassy with the business
and they were having fun with it; and it was
growing, and life was relatively good until
the pandemic. "
Now, with painful input cost increases,
painful labor cost increases, labor shortages
and other business 'headaches,' the silver
tsunami is in full swing.
24 MEAT+POULTRY | 03.23 | www.meatpoultry.com
" They want out now, " Sullivan said.
" They're tired; they're fed up, and maybe
perhaps just concerned about what that whole
pandemic and all of the economic chaos that
unleashed had done to the family as well.
" I think a lot of business owners pre
pandemic were like, yeah, I'm 60, I'm 65, but
you know what? I'm still having fun. I can keep
doing this. I could do this until I'm 70. Well, the
pandemic, maybe whether they got COVID or
they didn't get COVID, it's drained the gas tank;
they don't have the energy. It's not fun anymore,
and the pandemic also, I think, was a two-by-four
up against everybody's head at how precious life
is and how quickly things can change. So, that is
a real, real serious issue on succession planning. "
Also, there's no guarantee that the next
generation will want to take the reins.
" They're saying: 'I've watched you, Mom
and Dad, bust your tail for all these years, and
I've seen the sacrifices you made in your life.
I'm not doing it, " Sullivan said. " Or, 'If I'm going
to do it, it's going to be on my terms.' "
SUPPLY CHAIN PIVOTS
Finally, the pandemic spurred many familyowned
businesses to revamp their supply chain
systems to include having backup vendors or
safety stock. They also are asking questions
about strategy such as whether to go 'just in
time' or build a cushion into company systems
and forecasting to mitigate exposure to risk in
the event of a blip in supply chain flows.
Small businesses in general helped soften
the economic blow of COVID-19, and they may
have helped the economy innovate and adapt
to challenging conditions like soaring prices
and supply chain issues, the Small Business
Administration Office of Advocacy said in an
isssue brief titled " Business Dynamics During
COVID-19. " Sullivan concurs that family
businesses also performed just as well, if not
better, than non-family owned peers.
" I really do think that these small
businesses were able to soften the economic
impact because they were more agile, because
they were more willing to accommodate and
be flexible and be creative in how they did
some of their problem solving, " she said. " I
think what family business has over the larger
corporate environments is they have the grace
and the ability to think with long-term thinking
as opposed to merely short-term thinking. "
Natee Meepian - stock.adobe.com
http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - March 2023

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