Insights for Families in Business: Finding Help

Family matters are very private. Business information is very powerful. Confidentiality, then, is absolutely essential when dealing with family businesses. All TD&A communications are confidential and our respect for confidentiality begins with the client’s initial inquiry.

Often people who are considering seeking outside help with family business issues are ambivalent:  They may be wondering why they need external help for internal family business problems. Yet these very same people don’t hesitate to seek outside legal or financial advice. But family matters are often guided by a code of privacy that demands family members abide by an unwritten rule: No one shares family affairs with outsiders. Accepting help requires a family to overcome the notion that asking for help is breaking a family rule.

Privacy. Wealth. Success. All can create isolation; isolated families lack the benefit of knowing that other families, too, struggle with problems, plans, decisions, issues, and concerns. We help families realize that many of the problems they face are intrinsic to family controlled enterprise structures such as business operations, family offices, trust, and foundations. Family history and relationships can create certain dynamics and situations that are beyond the control of any one family member.

We have identified four different stages of readiness in terms of whether a family is ready to accept help.

A family may be:

• Experiencing changes and difficulties but not ready to accept information
• Ready to seek information but not ready to take action
• Building up the emotional momentum needed to ask for help
• Ready to address issues and accept help

When a family member makes the decision to seek help we welcome the opportunity to discuss our services with whomever reaches out and makes the first call.

1 | 2 | 3 More