Many of us have heard the old proverb “give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach a person to fish and you feed them for a lifetime.” Another way to phrase these wise words is, “give a child a business and they destroy it within a year; but teach a child how to run a business and they continue a family legacy.” If business owners want to create a sustainable family business, then the process of educating the next generation of business owners begins today.

We don’t know what the future holds for our children’s careers, but we can help influence their career path by what we expose them to. Ultimately, whether they start their own business, operate the family business, or work for someone else, they surely won’t regret the real-world skills that they would garner from learning business concepts and skills today. Early exposure to life skills such as problem-solving, time management, the value of money, teamwork and family are invaluable.

In more simple terms, imagine a trust being a private box of hidden treasures by which you could place assets such as money, property or even businesses inside of that would now receive protection and take advantage of certain allowable exemptions that otherwise would not be available to you.

Trusts can be a good way to reduce the size of your estate thereby reducing the potential estate tax burden, while also avoiding probate (the lengthy legal process in which a will is reviewed and administered), maintaining privacy, and protecting assets from creditors.

There is no substitute for first seeing with one’s eyes how something should be done. This is why “shadowing” or taking “tours of duty” within organizations is critical to the professional growth of ascending business leaders. By seeing how things are done and getting their hands dirty within different levels of the organization, your children are taking a hands-on master’s class in business administration. This process also helps them better understand if they truly enjoy working in the business.

Once your child has shadowed the business and confidence has been established, it is time for them to operate and work in the business from an executive leadership position. This will require courage and a willingness to accept that mistakes will be made, but that is all part of the growing process.

Ultimately, after years of successfully running the family business on their own, your children will also be able to “pass the torch” to the next generation and repeat a successful model of what it takes to run the family business. This aspect of learning, operating, and transitioning a family business can play a significant role in continuing a family legacy and can be a source of wealth creation for multiple generations.

Should you have any questions about the important role of teaching the next generation business skills today and how this can impact your legacy planning, please don’t hesitate to reach out to a member of the Saling Wealth Advisor team.

This material is not financial advice or an offer to sell any product and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any particular security. The opinions expressed are those of the Saling Wealth Advisors’ Management Investment Team and are subject to change without notice.

Saling Wealth Advisors (“SWA”) is an independent SEC registered investment advisor. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. This material is provided for informational and educational purposes only. More information about SWA including our advisory services, fees, and objectives can be found in our Form ADV Part 2A, which is available upon request.