Family
The relationships, skills, passions, differences and similarities within your family are central to what unites or divides you. Family members don’t always see eye-to-eye, love is not automatic and sometimes trust is an issue. However, you are still a family.
What is missing from nearly every family office website? The mention of family. It is natural for professionals to focus on their own technical comfort zones such as legalities, tax laws and rates-of-return without ever addressing the ethos of a family. Let’s begin a real conversation.
Wealth
Hard work has brought success. Your new focus is not survival or bill payments but how to transition your values and wealth to future generations? There are many statistics around failure in succession of family wealth. Are these numbers accurate or is the data flawed? What types of strategies can be used to limit entitlement while financially assisting the next generation?
Purpose
What brings you together when not everyone in the family is an entrepreneur or a philanthropist? Do you have a common goal or purpose? What is your history and where are you headed next? Your family story may have begun with humility and hard work but will those words define you in the future? Does your family history limit or expand your family’s future?
Challenges
Wealth can bring unwanted attention and public scrutiny. Regardless of perceptions and profile, there are many things that should remain private. With the affluence comes the burden of expectations from peers, community and even other family members. Everything should be perfect but it isn’t and it may feel like all eyes are on you for solutions.
It can be hard for some family leaders to find support even though there are others with similar obstacles. You are not likely the first, the last or alone when it comes to your challenges.
