Farm Credit Services Southwest: Financial Solutions: Family Business Planning

Do you need to plan?

Take a look at the following "Success Survival Checklist." Each question refers to a tool or action that becomes more and more critical to continued survival and growth over time. How do you check out?

"Success Survival" Checklist
	Yes	No
1. Do our advisers work as a team?
2. Do all family members work in harmony?
3. Do we have a specific return on investment target for the operation(s)?
4. Do we have a strategic business plan?
5. Is that plan built around our target return on investment?
6. Do our key people have the information they need to meet that budget?
7. Does our compensation system fairly reward achieving — and exceeding — that plan?
8. Do the current owners have a realistic "exit strategy" and estate plan?

If you answer a confident "yes" to each question, congratulations. You may want to suggest family business planning to someone who needs it.

If not, realize that your perserverance is not enough to ensure you'll stay successful through the changes and transitions ahead. We can help you turn each "no" into a definite "yes."

How we work

We created an alliance with Dr. Donald J. Jonovic, a nationally recognized expert on business planning for family agribusinesses, to develop a step-by-step program for us. The result is "Ag-planner IV," an effective and practical tool that can help you, your family members and your advisers identify and answer the key questions about the future of your family and your ag operation.

Our staff will use Ag-planner IV to lead your family through important issues that impact the success of your business, such as:

Who will own the business?
Who will manage it in the future?
How would ownership and management change upon the death of parents or the current owner/manager?
How can you have a tax efficient transfer of assets to a younger generation?
What are fair and equitable compensation programs for all family members?
What is a game plan for transitioning from one generation to the next?

These are all questions we ask and help families answer.

To learn more about our program ...

Contact Ken Lassen at 602.431.4150 or e-mail Ken at kenyon.lassen@fcssw.com.