Welcome to The Holleman Business Succession Forumsm
The purpose of this Forum is to engage business owners in conversation about the political and emotional aspects of business succession planning. We believe that through the stories our guests tell of the real life issues and challenges, our listeners will be better prepared to build their own succession plans.
Although we do delve into some technical or mechanical aspects of business succession planning, the true aim is for business owners to think through and describe the hurdles they faced in their business succession planning - the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Our guests are primarily men and women who have followed family into a business, or had their family follow them. We also invited professional advisors who have worked with a multitude of business owners to share their thinking and experience. You will hear stories of the roots of the particular company, how the guest decided to enter the business, the working relationship with parent(s), grandparent(s), siblings, and/or their own children, as well as key legacy issue decisions. There is no specific type of business we focus on; we provide a wide range of guests so that our listeners will find examples that they can learn and gain from.
“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.”
- Albert Einstein
As the successor to his father, Vernon Holleman, III, CLU, learned firsthand that a great deal of continuity planning is the political and emotional planning - the people part. Not that the "numbers" issues, such as ownership percentages, stock, trusts, insurance, etc. are not important - they are - but they are made much easier when the thorny issues are better understood and addressed. This is the foundation this Forum was founded on and aims to address and help.
Business owners are not alone, although they often feel that way. Through these interviews, Vernon offers business owners the opportunity to hear firsthand what other business owners have experienced, what they learned, where they failed, where they succeeded, what they would have done differently, and what advice they have for others. A wonderful by-product of this is bringing out great business stories - and great family stories.