Episodes

  • Trailer - [The Business of Family]

    Trailer - [The Business of Family]
    Jul 28 2020
    Multigenerational wealth creation involves so much more than just capital accumulation. The most successful families cultivate and collect values, stories, knowledge and resources to pass on to the next generation. The systems and processes to do this are very intentional. Very few do the work and even fewer make it beyond the 3rd generation. Join Mike Boyd (https://mikeboyd.com.au/) on The Business of Family (https://www.businessoffamily.net/) Podcast as he interviews members of some of the world's most interesting families about how they pass knowledge, resources, values and wealth to the next generation. Family Constitutions and annual letters Family meetings and retreats Succession planning Stewardship Family Office investing Multi-generational wealth creation and preservation Enduring companies and familes Family enterprise Human, Intellectual and Financial Capital I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some extremely successful families in my travels and gleaned insights from how each are shaping their legacy. Many will tell you that it’s the human, intellectual and spiritual capital that makes them successful for generations & that financial capital is simply a function of their success in these areas. If multigenerational families and businesses fascinate you too, subscribe now to The Business of Family Podcast. I hope you enjoy sharing this learning journey with me and would greatly appreciate any feedback, resources or referrals you have to offer. https://twitter.com/MikeBoyd/status/1277889154601201664 For more episodes go to BusinessOfFamily.net (https://www.businessoffamily.net/) Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter at newsletter.mikeboyd.com.au (http://newsletter.mikeboyd.com.au/) Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd (https://twitter.com/MikeBoyd) If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes (http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1525326745), I receive a notification of each review. Thank you!
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    3 mins
  • Scott Peppet - Building a Family-Focused Office for Sam Zell

    Scott Peppet - Building a Family-Focused Office for Sam Zell
    Jun 20 2022
    Scott Peppet serves as the President of Chai Trust Company LLC, the private trust company that serves as the family office for Sam Zell (https://www.egizell.com/people/sam-zell/) and his family. Equity Group Investments (https://www.egizell.com/), a division of Chai trust, provides investment management services on its behalf. From 2000 to 2018, Scott was a professor of Law at the University of Chicago where he focused on Bargaining, Dispute Resolution, Translational Law, and the complexities of multigenerational family enterprises. Scott speaks regularly on Family Offices, Private Trust companies as well as Intergenerational Leadership while also maintaining an active website (https://scottpeppet.com/). Scott is a G2 family member. He is Sam Zell's son-in-law, having married Sam's eldest daughter. Standout Quotes: * "Business works on short wavelengths and family works on very long wavelengths" - [Peter Evans, Scott] * "What does it mean to try and help family members really develop and really take ownership, so they can figure out how to deploy what they have?" - [Scott] * "There are many different kinds of wealth… you probably aren't put on the earth to grow the financial capital, there's lots of professionals who can help you do that" - [Scott] * "Too often, the implicit message sent to family members is 'this system is really here to steward the money" - [Scott] * “Families rarely fail for taking too much risk, they fail for taking too little risk” - [Scott] * "My goal is to create a family-focused office, not a family office, and a trusted company, not a Trust company" - [Scott] * "If you want to succeed you have to have a family that understands what you're doing" - [Scott] Key Takeaways: * Scott is the President of Chai Trust Company, LLC, the private trust company that serves as the family office for Sam Zell and his family. Equity Group Investments, a division of Chai trust, provides investment management services on its behalf. From 2000 to 2018, Scott was a professor of Law at the University of Chicago where he focused on Bargaining, Dispute Resolution, Translational Law, and the complexities of multigenerational family enterprises. He speaks on Family Offices, Private Trust companies as well as Intergenerational Leadership while also maintaining his active website. Scott is a G2 family member, as he is Sam Zell's son-in-law. * Scott got married to Sam's older daughter 20 years ago while he was already teaching as a Law professor. Since then he got increasingly curious about family enterprises till he fully transitioned into working in the family enterprise. After a few months of knowing each other, they started dating but Scott had no idea about her family wealth till she opened up about it. * About Sam Zell: Sam is a serial entrepreneur, who first built a business in Real Estate, following which he turned to distressed Corporate Investing in the 80s, and then in the 90s, he created some of the largest REITs in the US today. He has continued to work on REITs and corporate investing since then. He has done several businesses over the years. Sam is also known for his straight talk, always making his stand clear in any discussion. He is also very astute and broad in his thinking. * As a Law professor, Scott worked on conflict intervention with corporations all over the world. When he started having kids, he got curious about how the family wealth could be managed productively for the family, especially for the kids. Sam encouraged him to work on it. Some authors that stood out in Scott's study were Jay Hughes and John Davis. * Scott describes the family structure; at the time Scott joined the family, Sam was 59 years, his 3 children were in their 30s, and as of now, there are 9 grandchildren. There was a form of governance structure, a board with his 3 children which wasn't functional as Sam made most decisions. However, now there has been a need to rebuild the structure as the company has evolved and this has been a huge part of Scott's focus since he moved full-time into the family enterprise. He has had to put in a lot of work to fully understand how the family enterprise functions; to make things change in a family system that often moves very slowly, you have to know where you're going. It involves a combination of urgency and patience, while thinking long-term, steps need to be taken early and consistently. Most of the family members are not employees, some of them are on the board. There is one board with both independent and family directors. * The business continues to be eclectic, investing across all kinds of sectors, especially with the benefit of permanent long-term capital. At the same time, complex actions and decisions can be taken quickly. Also, family learning and development are being built as the kids grow to become adults. * In the inflationary period currently, the business finds smaller companies that need capital and expertise to grow to the next level; companies...
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Peter Evans - Trusted Advisor to Legacy Families & Member of a 7th Generation Family Holding Company

    Peter Evans - Trusted Advisor to Legacy Families & Member of a 7th Generation Family Holding Company
    Apr 24 2022
    Peter Evans is an advisor, consultant, and speaker to legacy families, family offices, and multigenerational enterprises all around the world. Peter creates the opportunities where affluent families have the greatest chance of flourishing. Peter is also part of a legacy family himself; he is a 5th generation member of a 7th generation American enterprise established in 1885. Peter married into this family and was astounded by the welcoming and inclusive nature of his wife's large family. The family enterprise is now a holding company with over 500 shareholders, all of whom are family members. Of particular interest are the Family Summits held annually, which are designed to re-engage family members, partake in family traditions and rituals, discuss philanthropy and reset for the year ahead. Peter shares his experience of what it was like to join a well-established legacy family and how he has used this unique experience to pivot his career and help other legacy families flourish. Standout Quotes: * "We can't really plan significantly for longer than 5-10 years, you just learn that along the way, things change; the world changes" - [Peter] * "I'm really interested in making sure that the family's values are aligned with their actions" - [Peter] * "To have some sort of formal way of telling stories, I think, is critical" - [Peter] * "The most important thing you'll do are these rituals" - [Peter] * "If we have the privilege of having wealth and means, we have an obligation to give back" - [Peter] Key Takeaways: * Peter is the 5th generation member of a 7th generation American enterprise established in 1885. He is an adviser, consultant, and speaker to legacy families, family offices, and multigenerational enterprises globally. He became a part of the family when he married his wife and was included. * The company began as a group of lumber companies started by two brothers who liquidated everything after 45 years to invest with their partner, Friedrich Weyerhäuser in 1901. Peter's family had continued to be involved with the business as it expanded, although there were no male heirs in the second generation, till the 3rd generation. The family later started a private trust company in 1964, at which point they became the 3rd largest retailer of building materials in the US. * Today with diversification, they are now a holding company with over 500 shareholders, all of whom are family members. Peter's children are already involved with the family business actively and eagerly look forward to partaking in the annual family meetings. * The Family Summit: This annual family meeting usually runs over 3-5 days, on the same weekend every year, with activities like the coming-of-age ritual and elders’ ritual, Olympic games, business meetings, philanthropy group meetings, and talks by guest speakers. The goal is to make it so interesting that people want to come back. * Planning Never Stops; the family forms a long-range planning committee every 5 years to have a clean slate to think through everything. A pattern of liquidating a significant resource once every 20 years was also observed; this 'Generational Harvest' would provide liquidity to each shareholder, giving them the freedom to make their own investments. * The family investments today are largely in Real Estate, like residence halls or low-income housing units, all intentionally inclined towards 'doing well by doing good' which is a value the family holds. * Peter left his role as president of the family enterprise in 2003 and has since then helped other family enterprises manage their multigenerational interests. He believes families with vast amounts of capital can make decisions that affect millions of lives and works to ensure that these families act in accordance with their values. "I can hold a mirror up to you so that you can begin to see yourself, your family system, and your footprint in the world; the other thing I can do is open the window so that you can look out into the world and see how other families made choices during different transitions" * Peter's most satisfying work is sitting with family members and watching the interactions; his work is focused on helping build bridges in communication and relationships. His role is a position between being a business consultant, priest, and therapist all of which require a deep level of trust and respect. At its core, his work is about relationships. * Peter’s role as a 'Personne de confiance': This is a confidential advisor based on their trust, respect, and honesty. The way to get into that role is to come into the family that needs help, taking time to build trust and confidence. Very often Peter has to model a way of doing things like chairing a meeting, inclusion, and effective decision-making while keeping in mind that the goal is to pass on the mantle of leadership. Most of the time, the G2 generation is the one that reaches out to him, however, in some cases when the patriarchs are ...
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    54 mins
  • Srinath Rajam - Separating the Family Conglomerate After 111 Years

    Srinath Rajam - Separating the Family Conglomerate After 111 Years
    Apr 3 2022
    Srinath Rajam is a Director at TVS & Sons, Chairman at Kwik Patch, and one of the four sons of the high profile TVS group of companies. The TVS Group is a long-standing family business, running for over 110 years, which has interests in everything from auto components through to finance. Now after over a century in business, the TVS group has decided to amicably separate. Srinath talks about this historical event and how by keeping it amicable, it sets the stage for the next phase of growth. Standout Quotes: * "The process of how you manage a company is not taught anywhere; the process for how you manage people is not taught anywhere so these are things you need to learn by watching" - [Srinath] * "Unless all of us are good human beings, we cannot work in a group" - [Srinath] * "If the family is not in one piece... the businesses are going to fall apart" - [Srinath] * "I don't worry about control, I worry about what's best for the business" - [Srinath] Key Takeaways: * Srinath is a 4th generation member of the TVS and Sons Family. He talks about a historic date when the family will finally be breaking up the company and separating after 111 years. Unlike many families which split with resentment and animosity, this breakup is rather amicable which sets the stage for growth in the next phase. * The seeds for the separation started in 1974, although from the onset, at a point when the Founder of the company had his influence waning as a patriarch, there was already a lot of mistrust. It was in 1974 that it became clear that there was no future for the company to continue as one large family which is now manifesting. * Over the 48 years since the first conversation was had about splitting up, the company has lost opportunities to advance in IT, however, they were able to structure the core competence of the existing companies. * The first phase was in 1927 when the company became the dealer for GM in South India. The next phase was automotive component manufacturing which continues to be the most profitable aspect of the business. The third phase is a two-wheeler operation, which is the largest and most valuable company. Most recently, the supply chain has also been racked up, which is the TVS Supply Chain. * About the two-wheeler operation: in 1972, as a young teenager, Srinath had discovered what looked like an electric bicycle which his grand-uncle was creating as a cheap way for people to move around. The engineers had said it would not be possible, but he invested energy, time, and money in it based on his conviction. By 1978, he passed on 10 days before the company was opened. The group was also into all sorts of automotive industries. * The strategy for the separation was that whoever is managing will continue to look after business till the separation, then the valuation was done in 2014, and the difference would be settled in cash. The Indian legal system encourages families to have such a business understanding, which was not initially accepted by all 64 shareholders but with persuasion, they agreed to implement it. The company also has very strict requirements regarding competence and experience to join in the business such that family members are not guaranteed an automatic seat. * Some of these requirements for joining the family business include Graduation from an Ivy League school, a minimum of 3 years of work experience outside the family business with no help getting the job. These and more only qualify members to apply, after which a competency board will assign a mentor who looks after the possible future leaders, and then they can grow from there. These new family members entering into the business start with a small responsibility like one of the smaller subsidiaries and are mandated to only report to a professional, not their parents. * Based on these requirements, most family members are only qualified to apply by their early 30s, which is beneficial for the company because emotional maturity is also critical. * Although G4 wasn't particularly groomed for management, they intend to identify those things they lacked and make them available for G5. Since the process of managing companies or people is not taught anywhere, G5 has to be properly introduced by participating as observers in top review meetings. Most of the methods and practices being implemented to groom G5 are ideas from John Ward. * Even though many families apply all sorts of family governance structures, not many are successful, meaning those structures do not guarantee anything. The question is "How do you make this work?". The first requirement is trust; without trust, none of these things can work. Next is transparency, and the third is to be Just and Fair. People working together must be good people who like being around each other. Additionally, fairness, compassion, and carrying people along, have been more efficient than any of these structures. * To address the issue of power grabbing in the 60s, a change in ...
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    57 mins
  • Chris Powers - How Big Of An Impact Do You Want To Have?

    Chris Powers - How Big Of An Impact Do You Want To Have?
    Mar 20 2022
    Chris Powers is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Fort Capital (https://fortcapitallp.com/) and the host of The FORT podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fort-with-chris-powers/id1410549811). Chris is a serial entrepreneur with more than 16 years of real estate development and investment experience. Since founding Fort Capital, the company has invested over $1.4B in Class B industrial, commercial, multifamily, student housing, and residential and land development projects. His drive to always remain curious, desire to connect with and learn from others led Chris to start his podcast, The FORT. In the FORT, Chris talks with leaders of businesses across real estate and a variety of industries and dives deep into ideas and topics that are not regularly discussed. Chris covers each guest's story and explores in detail the critical moments that led to success, failure, growth, and confidence. He has successfully published over 200 podcast episodes. Standout Quotes: * "You only are going to be on this earth one time, you really are not coming back again after the first time; let's make the most of it" - [Chris] * "Everything that you were mad at your parents for when you were a kid, is everything you respect them for when you're an adult" - [Chris] * "Money never mattered to my dad, being content and serving others did" - [Chris] * "I think it's a very special thing in life to really want to be good at something" - [Chris] * "If you're a parent and you actually can't give your kids the things they want, it makes it almost easy; what's tough is when you can give them what they want and you choose not to" - [Chris] * "How can you expect someone that grew up with everything easy and given to them, to ever have that burning desire" - [Chris] * "Kids don't learn by words, they learn by actions, so I can say everything I want to my kids but they're going to be watching what I'm doing" - [Chris] * "You don't keep families together, particularly with the amplification of wealth, if you're not intentionally practicing the values" - [Mike] * "We're living in a really cool generation where I think we're going to be able to tell our stories to our kids like nobody's been ever been able to do it before" - [Chris] * "There's just very few people that matter in this world that you remember because of how much money they had, it's really about what they did… you will be defined by how much people remember you" - [Chris] * "The majority of businesses that do really well hit singles and doubles over and over" * "When's enough enough?... it depends on how big of an impact you want to have" - [Chris] * The first great business decision you're going to make is who you marry" - [Warren Buffet, Chris] * "There's things in life that are either giving us energy or taking away energy" - [Chris] Key Takeaways: * Chris Powers is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Fort Capital. He is also the host of the podcast, "The FORT", as well as a serial entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience in Real Estate Development and Investment Experience. Chris is a first-generation entrepreneur with stories that shaped him down to his relationship with his children. * Chris's dad was a lawyer who valued education, however, after 13 years of being a lawyer, He decided to become a doctor. With two kids and a wife at home, He left law and started medical school at the age of 39 which took place over 8 years with a financial toll on the family. The experience during those years created the foundation for the impression Chris has about money, feeling fortunate to have been more deprived of things than his peers. Chris also learned the importance of doing things in life that give fulfillment. * Because of the experience of not having money over those years, Chris became an entrepreneur at a young age to get the money he needed. However, Chris has a fear that his success allows him to skip the chances to deprive his kids of the things they should be deprived of. * Following the passing of his dad, Chris witnessed a turnout at the funeral and stories that depicted the level of impact people felt while his dad was alive. Although it was a traumatic unexpected event, Chris felt equipped at the time to take the reins in the family because his father had trusted him very early on to do things. This taught Chris that there's a level of transparency that is healthy with children, for them to start learning early on how the family operates. * "If you study people who are extremely successful in life endeavors, there is a common thread among them where they were in a position to really want something while growing up". This has made Chris understand that it is hard but necessary to deprive kids of certain things even when they can be gotten. He is trying to teach his kids not to be overly reliant on his wealth but to forge their path. Additionally, having the nature to treat people very well even from childhood is a good foundation to build ...
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    1 hr
  • Anthony R Contrucci - A 5th Generation Member of the Schrage Family, Owners of the 126 Year Old Centier Bank

    Anthony R Contrucci - A 5th Generation Member of the Schrage Family, Owners of the 126 Year Old Centier Bank
    Mar 6 2022
    Anthony Contrucci is a proud 5th Generation member of the Schrage Family. He serves in many roles within his broader family enterprise including his role as President and Board of Director of First Bancshares, Inc. (FBS) a bank holding company located in Merrillville, Indiana. FBS’s primary operating asset is Centier Bank (https://www.centier.com/). Founded in 1895, the Schrage family has owned and operated the financial institution for 126 years. From humble beginnings, today they are the largest private, family-owned bank in the State of Indiana with approx. $5.8 billion in total assets, over 60 branches, and in excess of 900 associates. As his career has evolved, he has developed a true passion for governance and operations. One of his current focuses is the codification and institutionalization of the key elements that differentiate his family’s enterprise. At its core, this speaks to their desire to remain a purpose driven enterprise focused on the preservation of their servant heart culture for generations to come. This spans the continuum of the impact that they have on their associates, their clients, and the communities that they serve overlayed by a holistic approach which incorporates environmental, social, and governance considerations. In addition, his passion for governance and operations has evolved beyond that of traditional corporate. For the better part of the last decade, he has led their family’s formalized family governance efforts. As they continue the transition from the 4th to the 5th generation, it was paramount to Anthony, and his generation, that they build the requisite operational and governance structures to ensure success in succession not just for their generation but for generations to come. With the collective support of the 4th and 5th generations, He has allocated a considerable amount of my time establishing their family office and formalized governance structure and framework. Although he feels blessed to be able to serve his family and family enterprise in a variety of roles, the role he is most proud of is that of a devoted husband and loving father. He is married to his best friend and soulmate, Melissa Contrucci (nee Schrage) and has been blessed with two loving children. Standout Quotes: * "I really believe our success as a family kind of exists at the crossroad of this desire to be civically involved" - [Anthony] * "That formula of putting people before profit is how you build long term sustainable value that transcends generations" - [Anthony] * "In order to be successful in succession, you have to be intentional and you have to be strategic" - [Anthony] * "If you think about the destination, you'll never start the journey" - [Anthony] * "If you're trying to solve a problem that you can solve during your lifetime, you're thinking too small" - [Anthony] * "Success requires action" - [Anthony] * "You can't appreciate something if you don't know how hard it was to have or you didn't have to work for it" - [Anthony] * "During times of dislocation, there's always opportunity" - [Anthony] * "The most important investment I've ever made is my time in my children" - [Anthony] * "Never try to replace your net worth for your self-worth" - [Anthony] Key Takeaways: * Anthony is a 5th generation member of the Schrage family currently serving in the role of President and Board Director of First Bank Shares, a bank holding company with a primary operating asset "Centier Bank" which was founded in 1895. They are now the largest private family-owned bank in the state of Indiana. * The Schrage family came over from Germany into the US in the 1800s, and over time the family has always been passionate about the community. This alongside the risk tolerance accounted for the success of the family because being involved with the community helped identify needs and create solutions. The name "Centier" Bank was coined intentionally to represent a century of service, the founding of the bank on Center Street, and that the bank strives to be the premier provider of financial services for the communities. The headquarter is in Merriville Indiana. * Despite the pandemic, banking is a good business to be in right now. Data from the bank shows that Centier Bank tends to outperform during times of market dislocation or pain. Clients are put even before the shareholders in the business, and this is how long-term sustainable value is built over generations. 2020 has been the best year financially in the history of the bank. * This success was achieved by consciously and emphatically considering the safety of clients and workers physically while also keeping them confident about their finances. They set out to help communities through different programs, mortgages, credits, and low-interest loans. * Anthony met his wife and her family at the age of 20 and she was his best friend before becoming his wife. Anthony had no intention of working in the family business but wanted to chart his ...
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • James (Jay) E. Hughes, Jr. - Family Wealth: Keeping It in the Family

    James (Jay) E. Hughes, Jr. - Family Wealth: Keeping It in the Family
    Feb 13 2022
    Mr. Hughes (http://jamesehughes.com/), a resident of Aspen, Colorado, is the author of Family Wealth: Keeping It in the Family (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08XLLDYGX/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4), and of Family – The Compact Among Generations (https://www.amazon.com/Family-Generations-James-Hughes-Jr/dp/1576600246), both published by Bloomberg Press, and is the co–author with Susan Massenzio and Keith Whitaker of The Cycle of the Gift: Family Wealth and Wisdom (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009TGASQM/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1), The Voice of the Rising Generation, and Complete Faith Wealth, all published by John Wiley & Sons and is a co-author with Hartley Goldstone and Keith Whitaker of Family Trusts: A Guide to Trustees, Beneficiaries, Advisors and Protectors". In addition, he has written numerous articles on family governance and wealth preservation and a series of Reflections which can be found on his website jamesehughes.com. He was the founder of a law partnership in New York City specializing in the representation of private clients throughout the world and is now retired from the active practice of law. Mr. Hughes was a partner of the law firms of Coudert Brothers and Jones Day. Standout Quotes: * "The first asset a family owns is its spiritual capital; if it doesn't have it, it better develop it" - [Jay Hughes] * "If we're learning together and we're sharing what we learn, guess what? we're likely to make better joint decisions" - [Jay Hughes] * "A family that's nothing but quantitative capital is toast" - [Jay Hughes] * "You don't have entitled children and you will know how much is enough if you're concentrating on growing your qualitative capitals" - [Jay Hughes] * "The two great obstacles to adjustment for a human being are sex and money; money is the worst of all because no nice person will speak of it" - [Jay Hughes] * "Every family has ghosts" - [Jay Hughes] * "Almost always, the plan that they have for transition...is a liability" - [Jay Hughes] * "Way too much time I think is spent on saying we need to be resilient, that's good but the real question is we need to be enduring" - [Jay Hughes] * "There's no such thing as financial resources, there are only things that are the representation of someone else's dream; anybody who doesn't get that right just misses the problem of the recipient" - [Jay Hughes] * "It astonishes me, Mike, that many families with huge resources have never studied the fact that human beings don't learn the same way" - [Jay Hughes] * "You don't just start; you start by building up those cells are going to make up the team on the journey" - [Jay Hughes] * "Storytelling is incredibly important to discover our history" - [Jay Hughes] Key Takeaways: * Jay's book "Family Wealth" was a huge inspiration over a decade ago for Mike's interest in the concept of Family Business. * After a major midlife crisis, Jay realized that his work in the law had a major flaw being that he was the only person who could use the structures he was creating for clients. He understood that the responsibility of a professional is to make clients more capable and liberate them but he had made them less capable. He started focusing more on ideas to make families more independent and also shared these ideas. Jay started to shift away from legal structures which were focused more on the 'How?' questions, and move towards the 'Why?' questions which had more impact on families. He also spoke publicly on different platforms about it and the message was well-received, encouraging him to start his book. * With the clients however this approach was challenging, but Jay understood that if he simply did what clients asked, it would not help them achieve their goals. He learned to wait for clients to gradually open up to the approach. It had also become needful for Jay to have a beginner's mind with this new approach, not assuming he had all the answers as usual but showing concern and the desire to help families. * Wealth comes from the Anglo-Saxon term "Weol" which means "well-being"; Financial capital is a form of wealth but it is not wealth. In trying to figure out the assets of a family to understand them better, a Balance Sheet has proved to be a humane tool. * Using this tool, there are 4 qualitative forms of capital; the first is Spiritual Capital. This refers to a common purpose where every member of the family by affinity seeks to enhance the other's journey of happiness. The next is Social Capital; can you make really good joint decisions together over a long period of time? To make good joint decisions, there has to be Intellectual Capital, meaning the family has to be a learning system where what is learned is shared. Another form of capital is Thriving Human Capital which is followed by the only quantitative capital; Financial Capital. Financial capital is the engine that grows the others and does not simply function as accumulated wealth. It is critical to understand ...
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    1 hr and 20 mins
  • Joe Pohlen - Caring for Elders & Why it's Important to Have Daughters

    Joe Pohlen - Caring for Elders & Why it's Important to Have Daughters
    Dec 12 2021
    Joe is the owner of Cardinal Senior Management (https://cardinalseniormgmt.com/), an operator of assisted living communities in the Untied States. Joe started the company with his business partner in 2015 and hopes to continue their growth in the coming decade with a focus on affordability and decentralized leadership. Joe lives in Grand Rapids, MI with his wife and 4 year old son. Standout Quotes: * "Unless someone's livelihood and their family’s livelihood depends on what you're doing, you're not an entrepreneur" - [Joe] * "Unfortunately, the US gets a reputation for not caring for our elderly the way a lot of other countries care for their elderly" - [Joe] * "If you want your family interacting with you in the US, I would recommend having daughters or making sure that you're close with your daughters-in-law" - [Joe] * "No one really cares what you have to say, it's your actions and your consistency" - [Joe] Key Takeaways: * Joe Pohlen is the owner and Partner at Cardinal Senior Management, an operator of assisted living communities in the U.S. with a specialty in affordable assisted living. * Joe started his career in Student Housing which was doing well but he wondered if that was his purpose in life. Knowing a few people who were working in assisted living and doing well, Joe started to figure out how to get into this field with his partner, Chuck. He started his journey and grew successfully. * Joe manages assisted living facilities where inhabitants pay ahead covering housing, activities, and care; the big challenge, however, is that more seniors lack the financial resources to move into the facility. The solution to this would have to involve the federal government. For families who cannot afford the cost, they would first be moved in with a roommate, and Medicaid will be involved to pay a lower price to help retain the care of the elderly. There are plans to implement other strategies to help improve the care for the elderly especially for those who do not have the financial capacity required. * The majority of decisions in a family are made by the oldest daughter and also most visits are usually from daughters, hence it pays to build good relationships with the daughters to encourage visits from the families. * Families also need to have conversations about steps to be taken to address issues related to the welfare of the elderly in different scenarios. People move into assisted living for two reasons, one is that they decide it's the right thing for them, and the second is when they lack a choice in the matter because the decision has been made for them. Those who decide on their own have a more successful experience. * Joe and his wife had previously decided not to have a kid but they changed their decision in the lockdown, deciding to adopt a kid who they were strongly emotionally drawn to, without anticipating it. He hopes his son will learn from him especially through his actions. * From experience, Joe observed that most families hand down wealth to the next generation very poorly and it often fails, hence he has always planned to spend his wealth rather than go through the same ordeal in trying to pass it down. His focus is on giving more of an education to equip his kid with the right tools to live successfully. * Joe's letter to his kid: "You are enough, your accomplishments are not the definition of who you are. Your mom and I love you. Continue to treat people how you want to be treated. If you go through this world doing the right thing even when it's hard, it will work out just fine for you" Episode Timeline: * [00:50] Introducing our guest for today, Joe Pohlen. * [01:41] About Joe's background * [05:27] How did you build your team to provide care rather than just storage? * [11:56] How do you handle families that cannot afford the cost of assisted living care? * [18:20] How do you encourage more frequent family visits? * [21:06] How can a family discuss the topic of assisted living for their elderly? * [26:44] About Joe's personal and family life. * [38:50] Joe's letter to his kids. For more episodes go to BusinessOfFamily.net (https://www.businessoffamily.net/) Sign up for The Business of Family Newsletter (https://www.businessoffamily.net/newsletter) Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd (https://twitter.com/MikeBoyd) If you feel it's appropriate, I'd so appreciate you taking 30 seconds to Leave a Review on iTunes (http://getpodcast.reviews/id/1525326745), I receive a notification of each review. Thank you! Special Guest: Joe Pohlen.
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    41 mins