For Cindy Galardi Culpepper, CEO and chairman of the Galardi Group, being thrust into leading her family’s restaurant business meant forgoing a lot of preparation.
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“I took the position six years ago when my ex-husband passed away,” she said.
“He left me the voting stock. I encountered some resistance and rightly so. The employees only knew me socially. They did not have any confidence in my ability and I had to develop trust with them.”
Fortunately, Cindy’s son, now 30 and president of Galardi Group will not suffer from a lack of preparation when he eventually takes the reigns. At 13, he began working in the restaurants. From cleaning the dining rooms and restrooms, to working as a cashier to eventually putting in time in the finance and marketing departments as he got older.
Cindy is confident the eventual business transfer to her son will go smoothly considering all the practical experience he has gained over the years. But that confidence is not as common as you might think among successful business owners.
Only one in three entrepreneurs believe the next generation are fully ready to step up to that challenge – a majority (53%) feel that more guidance and training is required, according to our BNP Paribas 2019 Global Entrepreneur Report.
In fact, elite entrepreneurs (those with $10 million or more in investable assets) from across industries revealed what they consider the most important factors for preparing to transfer their business – and there was overwhelming agreement!
Take a look at what entrepreneurs said were the most important factors in transferring their business to the next generation:
- 96% identified practical experience of how the business operates.
- 94% identified guidance on financial management.
- 92% identified education on business succession from professional advisors.
- 92% said participation in a succession plan put together by my wealth manager.
Check out the full BNP Paribas 2019 Entrepreneur Report – Part II including an in-depth profile of Cindy as well as analysis on how entrepreneurs around the world are tackling the succession question.
My BNP Paribas colleagues also share their thoughts on how best to prepare the next generation where we truly have a “wealth of experience” – excuse the pun!
For more information on our approach to financial and wealth planning and how we can help you with your succession planning, please contact us.
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