At our recent Fireside Chat event, we had the privilege of hearing from Judy and Jeremy Hogel, the dynamic mother-son duo who lead MegaPros, a family business that faced unexpected challenges after the sudden loss of Joe Hogel, husband, father, and founder of the company. Moderated by Deanna Salo, this intimate conversation gave us a rare glimpse into their emotional journey and the leadership lessons they learned while navigating both personal grief and business challenges. Below are some key takeaways and memorable moments from the event that will resonate with anyone leading a family-owned business.

Key Takeaways:

1.    Succession Planning Is Non-Negotiable

• The Gift of Preparedness. Joe Hogel left behind a handwritten letter “If I Died Yesterday” back in 2013, outlining what Judy and Jeremy needed to do in the event of his passing. This foresight helped the family stay organized and focus on moving forward, even when emotions were high. Judy later took inspiration from this and wrote her own letter for her loved ones, offering both emotional closure and a practical guide.

“The best gift I got from Joe was that letter… In my grief, I had a clear task list to follow. That was his final act of love.” – Judy

• It’s more than just paperwork. Judy emphasized that while estate plans and succession documents are essential, regularly reviewing and updating them is just as important. These plans can’t just sit on a shelf – they need to be actively integrated into the family business structure.

2.    Lessons in Estate Planning

• Funding Trusts Is Essential. Judy openly shared a major oversight they encountered: while their trust was well-written, none of their assets were titled under it, which forced them into probate. This is a common mistake, but an avoidable one with the right attention.

“We had the trust, everything was written in the trust, but nothing was funded. Nothing was titled in the trust. Which meant that I went to probate.” – Judy

• Beneficiary Designations Matter. The Hogels learned the importance of properly designating beneficiaries for 401Ks, life insurance policies, and HSAs to keep assets outside of probate and reduce tax liabilities.

“Ask the question: If I died yesterday, what’s going to be the implications to my significant other? What kind of hoops are they going to have to jump through?” – Jeremy

3.    Invest in the Right Advisors Early

Jeremy shared candid insights about the mistakes they made during the transition period. One key mistake was not hiring the right advisors early enough: “There was no way Joe was going to spend money on something like succession planning,” Jeremy said, acknowledging their initial hesitation to invest in professionals with the necessary expertise.

He also emphasized that cutting corners when it comes to hiring expert advisors was one of their biggest mistakes. “You get what you pay for. Not hiring the right people for big things was one of our biggest mistakes.” – Jeremy.

Jeremy praised the EFBC’s network of advisors – Strategic Partners, describing them as “the crème de la crème,” and encouraged others in the room to tap into this invaluable resource early on.

4.    Leadership Must Be Clearly Defined

While Joe had been preparing Jeremy to step into a leadership role, it became clear after his passing that there needed to be more formal communication about leadership succession within the company. Jeremy noted that while the team knew he would take over, having clear documentation of leadership responsibilities is crucial to avoid confusion.

“Joe was preparing me, but we didn’t have everything formalized. Now I understand the need for clarity in leadership transitions.” – Jeremy

5.    Adapting Company Benefits

Learning from Joe’s death, MegaPros quickly amended their policies, such as increasing life insurance for employees and adjusting profit-sharing plans to ensure that if an employee passes away, their family would receive their share of profits.

6.    Balancing Emotion and Business

Jeremy reflected on how challenging it is to separate emotion from business, especially in a family business setting. MegaPros initially leaned heavily on numbers and metrics, but after Joe’s passing Jeremy soon recognized the need to prioritize the human side as well to truly uphold their culture

“It’s not just about numbers. If you’re not good, the business isn’t good. We have to figure out the people part first, then the money will follow.” – Jeremy

7.    The Power of Community in Times of Crisis

When tragedy struck, the EFBC community rallied around Judy and Jeremy, providing both emotional and practical support. From peers reaching out to help with daily tasks to friends offering a listening ear, this sense of belonging made a critical difference during their darkest moments.

“The people in this room, the people of the EFBC, started as just a group of folks who wanted to learn… but over time, they became lifelong friends and family – people who showed up for us in our hardest moments.”– Jeremy

The Hogels’ journey after Joe’s sudden passing serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of succession planning, community support, and financial resilience. Their story shows how a family business can not only survive but thrive in the face of tragedy, as long as the right foundations are in place. Plan for the unexpected, surround yourself with the right advisors, build financial resilience, and lead with both your head and your heart.

For those who couldn’t attend, we hope these key takeaways provide valuable insights you can apply to your own journey as a business owner or entrepreneur.

Save the Date: We’ll continue this Fireside Chat series on December 11, 2024 – virtual Fireside Chat “From A Minute to Think to Leading the Way” featuring Julie Funt, a renowned keynote speaker, who will share insights on leadership, productivity and well-being; and February 13, 2025 – fireside chat focusing on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), featuring our members Jim Flanagan and Mark Wesa. Don’t miss out!

Beyond “Faster Horses:” Building a Customer-Centric Culture

The late great Sam Walton, best known for founding both Walmart and Sam’s Club, once famously remarked that “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” Though American business practices have changed considerably since Walton’s passing in the 1990s, his statement is evergreen, and stresses the importance of putting the customer first in business practices. This means developing, delivering, refining, and improving your products and services with your customers in mind. It may seem like a no-brainer, but implementing this customer-centric way of thinking at all levels of your business can be tricky. It requires knowing what your customers want and how to give it to them. It also requires balancing the needs of existing customers with the wants and needs of the customers you’re hoping to acquire while still putting the needs of your employees first.

1. Prioritize Employees to Serve Customers Better

And, while it may seem counter-intuitive that building a customer-centric culture would begin with putting the needs of your employees first, that actually is where most experts recommend starting. In According to Annette Franz, a customer experience expert and frequent Forbes collaborator, building a true customer-centric culture means putting the customer first, but putting the employee “more first.” After all, regardless of the company figurehead, your employees are the day-to-day faces with which your customer base interacts. Happy, engaged employees tend to create positive customer experiences, naturally reflecting your business values and culture. When your team feels valued and empowered, they are better equipped to meet and exceed customer expectations

2. Listen to Your Customers – Work From the Outside In

The second step to building a customer-centric culture is to work from the outside in. Many businesses make the mistake of assuming they know what the customer wants, but (unfortunately) “if you build it, they will come” only works in Field of Dreams. Considering the customer doesn’t mean telling them what they want, it means letting them tell you what they want. Of course, this can be done in a variety of ways, from the more formal, like surveys and feedback boxes, to the less formal, like checking heatmaps on your website and relying on anecdotal accounts from the employees you made sure to put “more first.” So, which of these should you use? The answer is D. All of the above. Experts recommend relying on a mix of formal and non-formal data collection when it comes to figuring out what your customers want, as different types of customers tend to communicate their wants and needs in different ways.

3. Deliver on What Customers Want

Of course, once you figure out what the customer wants, you need to give it to them. Again, that is a deceptively simple statement, but it requires a lot of analysis and hard decisions. After all, the data collected from your surveys, feedback, and heatmaps may not show consistent trends, or current customers may be asking for something different than customers you hope to attract. Sometimes, you just have to make a best guess about what people want, and sometimes you’ll be wrong. At EFBC, we encountered this with our traditional Full Forums. While these peer groups were highly valued by many members, we noticed a need for greater flexibility for those who couldn’t commit to the Full Forum schedule. In response, we introduced a Flex Forum option, offering a more flexible format for members with tighter schedules. While we weren’t quite sure how it would be received initially, the Flex Forum has since become a huge success, proving that anticipating customer needs can pay off.

This is where open lines of communication become key. Make sure you have accessible and proactive customer service, and make sure your employees are able to easily raise any recurrent issues that customers are having. Open lines of communication between your customers and your employees help foster a culture of continuous improvement. Then, show that you are listening! Refining a product or service based on customer feedback is a great way to communicate to those customers that they are heard and valued, which in turn creates loyalty.

4. Think Beyond Customer Expectations

Anticipating and responding to customer needs also can require thinking outside the box. To quote another famous businessman, Henry Ford, “if I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Where Ford excelled was not in that he gave people something they didn’t ask for. In fact, quite the opposite: he was so attuned to the needs of his customers that he was able to give them the impossible thing they didn’t even know they were asking for. And if you can do that, you’ll not only continue to cultivate the loyal base you already have, but you’ll also expand that base. And that is how you grow as a true customer-centric company.

Tune In And Cash In: 3 Podcasts You Should Listen to Before Selling Your Business

So, you’re thinking about selling? First of all, congratulations! Making the decision to sell your business can be a great way to cash in on your hard work and propel the company you helped build to the next level. But it’s a big step, and one that can feel daunting, especially considering there are 45,000 active businesses for sale globally. That’s a lot of competition. And even if you already have a buyer or an offer lined up, there’s still a lot to consider before closing the deal: What is your company worth? How involved do you want to be after the sale? Should you hire a broker or CBI? If so, which one?

For answers to these questions and more, we’ve been tuning in to some really great podcasts lately, and we wanted to share a few of our favorites. Each of these podcasts offers invaluable selling advice that ranges from where to start to true deep dives into the individual experiences of entrepreneurs. And best of all? They can all be found online for free! So let’s listen in, shall we?

1. For a quick (but thorough) overview of the selling process: Dollar$ and $ense: Creating Your Fulfilled Life, produced by our Strategic Partner Private Vista and hosted by Nicole Romito

We’ve always been big fans of the Dollar$ and $ense podcast, run by EFBC Strategic Partner Private Vista. This podcast is known for its broad range of financial planning advice, covering everything from life events to wealth management strategies. Recently, they released a three-part series titled “Preparing for the Sale of Your Business,” which offers a thorough exploration of the selling process. Hosted by Nicole Romito (a financial planner with over 20 years of experience), the series features insights from EFBC Strategic Partners George Karavattuveetil (President of Psyched!) – Episode 38; Deanna Salo (Managing Principal at Cray Kaiser), Eric Vanderploeg (Partner at Burke, Warren, MacKay & Serritella) – Episode 39; and Matthew Hammer and Dawn Mase (of Wintrust Commercial Banking) – Episode 40. Each of these experts offer invaluable insight into the nuts and bolts of selling a business while helping entrepreneurs navigate the emotional side of the process. And best of all, it’s a Chicago-based podcast, so the specifics will sound familiar (and be particularly useful) to Chicagoland/Illinois businesses, offering local expertise that hits close to home. Each of the three episodes runs 30-45 minutes in length and is available on Private Vista’s website, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Youtube, and Amazon Music.

2. For the buyer’s perspective: Acquiring Minds, produced and hosted by Will Smith

No, not THAT Will Smith, but the podcast Acquiring Minds still packs a punch. Founded and hosted by an entrepreneur who built and sold online media brands for much of his early career, Acquiring Minds came about when Smith decided he wanted more insight into the buyer’s side of the table. So, he sat down and interviewed every buyer he could find. Smith’s guests run the gambit from top players in SBA lending to portfolio builders.

What’s great about this podcast is its focus on practical takeaways. Through thoughtful questions around due diligence, company culture, and growth potential, Smith helps listeners (whether buying, selling, or both) gain insights they can apply immediately. In one of our favorite episodes, he even interviews a young couple who decide to start a family business by buying one. Each episode runs about 90 minutes in length and is available on Spotify, Apple Podcast or the Acquiring Minds website (though we prefer to listen on Spotify, where the descriptions contain a list of topics discussed in each episode).

3. For deep dives into seller stories with a feminist twist: The Exit Whisperer, produced and hosted by Carrie Kerpen

Though Kerpen’s podcast is geared more toward women, we think the stories of the female entrepreneurs she features in her episodes are pretty universal. After selling her own agency, Likeable Media, Kerpen developed a methodology for helping others avoid the common pitfalls associated with exiting a business. The Exit Whisperer is an exploration of that philosophy, especially as it relates to the valuation gap between female and male-founded businesses. In the podcast, Kerpen interviews the people who are closing that valuation gap: women who have successfully scaled and sold their businesses. And our favorite part? Kerpen pulls these guests from businesses of all shapes and sizes. We’re talking big health companies in some episodes and small yet scalable product companies in others. Because of this range, The Exit Whisperer will have a story that speaks to you, regardless of your gender. The episodes run about 30 minutes in length and are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.

Of course, this three-podcast-long list is by no means exhaustive. There are hundreds of business podcasts out there that cover topics related to acquisitions, and that number continues to grow. This is great news for entrepreneurs, as it moves wisdom that may have previously appeared behind paywalls or in long, complex books into a more accessible format. It also means that if you have a specific question related to selling your business (or anything else, really), there is probably a podcast out there with the answer. So, after getting an overview from the podcasts we listed above, it’s worth doing a search to see if you can find deeper dives that address your specific industry, concerns, or values. Happy listening!

A New Look, Same Passion: Unveiling Our 30^th Anniversary Logo

Our team spent months brainstorming what the perfect 30^th Anniversary logo should be for EFBC. We asked ourselves: What design truly represents EFBC? How can we make it bold and forward-thinking while still complementing our existing logo? And, do we even need a new one? After countless versions, revisions, and collaborative sessions with our Strategic Partner, marketing agency ODEA, we finally landed on a design concept by ODEA’s talented designer, Susan. The moment we saw it, we all knew – this was “us”.

This year marks a significant milestone for the Entrepreneur and Family Business Council (EFBC) – our 30th Anniversary! Over the past three decades, we’ve been honored to serve, support, and empower family and entrepreneurial businesses through innovative programs and a powerful peer network. To celebrate this achievement, we’re excited to unveil a new logo that captures not just where we’ve been, but where we’re going.

The Meaning Behind the logo

Our new icon isn’t just about aesthetics – it’s a reflection of our mission and the journey we’ve taken together. The logo features the word “EMPOWER”, symbolizing the heart of what EFBC does: we empower our members to thrive in their businesses, leadership, and personal growth.

Look closely, and you’ll notice something special about the letter “o” in “empower.” We’ve replaced it with “30,” incorporating a creative blend of the numbers 3 and 0. But it’s not just about marking the passage of time – it’s about growth, transformation, and the lasting impact we’ve made together.

You might also notice a pearl at the top of the “3.” It’s not a coincidence – pearls are traditionally associated with 30th anniversaries, symbolizing wisdom gained through experience. For us, that pearl signifies the knowledge, resilience, and strength our members have developed over the years, as well as the wisdom we continue to share with each other in our tight-knit community.

You might ask, why “Empower”?  – We chose “Empower” because it has always resonated deeply with us. At EFBC, we’re not just about educating our members. We’re about providing the tools and the confidence to take charge, make informed decisions, and lead with purpose. We know that success in family and entrepreneurial businesses isn’t just about knowing the right answers – it’s about being empowered to navigate challenges, seize opportunities, and continuously improve.

This isn’t just a theme limited to our anniversary year, it’s a philosophy that has driven us since day one!

What’s Next for EFBC?

As we celebrate 30 years of empowering business leaders, we’re also excited to look ahead to the future. Our “Empower” logo is more than a symbol of the past; it represents the next chapter for EFBC – a chapter of continued innovation, stronger community connections, and even more impactful programming.

Our members know that EFBC is not just an organization – a community built on trust and shared experiences, where you can find support, gain access to invaluable perspectives and innovative strategies. And this is something that will never change.

Save the Date!

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our 30th Anniversary Gala celebration in April 25, 2025 at the majestic Adler Planetarium in Chicago. It’s going to be a night to remember as we celebrate three decades of empowering business leaders. Invitations will be sent out in a few months, so stay tuned!

And, as a special thank you to our members for being part of this incredible journey, we’ve prepared something special to celebrate this milestone. Keep your eyes peeled on your mailbox in the coming months!

Here’s to 30 years of empowerment – and to many more years of growth and success ahead!

Essential Steps to Ensure a Smooth Generational Transfer

Is It Time to Start Thinking About Your Legacy? 

Picture this: You’ve built a successful business, pouring your blood, sweat, and tears into making it thrive. Now, as you approach retirement, you’re thinking about what comes next—not just for you, but for the business you’ve spent years cultivating. The challenge? Ensuring a smooth generational transfer that protects your legacy while preparing the next generation to take the reins.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. In the United States, over 51% of business owners are over the age of 55 and grappling with the same question: how do you ensure your life’s work continues successfully without you at the helm? The good news is that by taking proactive steps, you can ensure your business thrives for years to come. And remember—it’s never too early to start planning.

Whether you’re just a few years from retirement or thinking ahead for the long term, starting the planning process early provides flexibility and peace of mind. Succession planning isn’t something that can be rushed, and by giving yourself time, you’ll have the opportunity to avoid common pitfalls, like those seen in family dramas on TV, while laying the groundwork for a smooth transition.

Here are 6 essential steps to help you plan for a successful generational transfer:

1. Start by Identifying and Training a Successor

The most critical step in any generational transfer is choosing the right successor. Begin by identifying potential candidates early on—whether from within the family or among trusted employees. Consider multiple options and set clear criteria for their development and eventual promotion. This gives you the opportunity to observe their growth, test their leadership capabilities, and make the most informed decision.

Once you have your successor, communicate the choice to your team and, most importantly, your customers. Your support and endorsement will help transfer the relationships and trust you’ve built over the years. Train your successor by giving them responsibilities gradually, allowing them to step into their leadership role while you’re still available to guide and mentor them.

It’s also important to remember that even if retirement seems far off, it’s beneficial to identify future leaders early. Doing so ensures a seamless transition when the time comes.

2. Preserve Vision and Values Through Mentorship

Ensuring your successor maintains the core vision and values of your business is essential for continuity. By the time you’re transitioning out, your team should already embody these principles, but explicitly mentoring your successor is critical. Walk them through how you made decisions that aligned with the company’s mission, how you built a culture around these values, and how you communicated them to clients, employees, and stakeholders.

Instilling this wisdom ensures that the business remains consistent with its foundational principles while still allowing for new leadership to adapt and evolve as necessary.

3. Communicate Clearly and Consistently

Communication is often the linchpin of a successful succession. “The biggest red flag that the succession will not go well is lack of communication,”says Mary Beth McLean of Private Vista. Clear and consistent communication helps build trust and ensures that everyone involved understands their role, expectations, and the overall plan. Without transparency, misunderstandings and mistrust can derail even the most carefully planned transition.

Develop a comprehensive communication strategy that involves all stakeholders—employees, customers, vendors, and family members. Regular updates on progress, clear timelines, and addressing concerns as they arise will go a long way in ensuring the success of the generational transfer. Open communication helps mitigate potential conflicts and ensures smoother transitions.

4. Develop Team Talent with Strong Training Programs

A successful generational transfer requires more than just a well-trained successor—it also requires a strong and capable team. Review and improve your company’s development and training programs, ensuring they align with the future direction of the business. Work with your successor to develop these programs, ensuring they cultivate not only leadership skills but also the values and vision that define your business.

This step provides your successor with hands-on experience while also preparing the broader team for a seamless transition. Your successor’s ability to lead will depend heavily on their support from a well-trained, motivated team.

5. Ensure Financial Stability by Establishing a Liquidity and Equity Plan

Generational transfers often come with financial complexities, especially in businesses where shares are closely held within a family or a small investor group. You need to have a clear plan for converting your ownership into equity that can be transferred, ensuring the business remains financially stable during the transition. This step is akin to creating a business “will.”

Additionally, make sure to account for tax implications that may arise during the transfer. Consult with tax advisors and legal professionals to minimize liabilities and ensure the transition is legally compliant. By proactively planning for liquidity and equity, you set your successor and your business up for financial success.

6. Embrace Life After Ownership

The final step is perhaps the hardest—letting go. Trusting someone else with the business you’ve built can be daunting, but if you’ve followed the steps above, you’ve set your successor and your business up for success. Now, it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor and take pride in the legacy you’ve built.

EFBC’s Role in Supporting Generational Transfer

At the Entrepreneur and Family Business Council (EFBC), we understand the complexities of generational transfers. We offer a variety of resources, including the Transition Preparation Assessment (TPA), designed to help businesses navigate the transition process. The TPA assesses leadership, succession planning, financial health, and operational efficiency, providing a roadmap for a successful transfer.

EFBC also connects businesses with Strategic Partners across key areas like accounting, legal, banking, and wealth management to ensure every aspect of the transition is covered. By leveraging their expertise, you can increase your chances of a smooth and successful generational transfer, safeguarding your legacy for years to come. To learn more about the common pitfalls to avoid during your succession planning process, check out our blog: “Avoid These 5 Common Pitfalls During Your Succession Planning Process When Looking to Extract Value from Your Company.”

Conclusion

A well-planned generational transfer ensures that your business not only survives but thrives under new leadership. By taking the time to identify a successor, preserve your values, develop your team, communicate clearly, and ensure financial stability, you can secure your legacy for future generations.

The time to start planning is now—and remember, it’s never too early to start. Are you ready to take the first step?

August President’s Message: Focus

Dear Members,

As the summer winds to a close (too quickly!), I am thinking a lot about focus.

In general, I feel that once the hecticness of summer commitments is behind us, I can re-focus on my business for the remainder of the year.  I can re-visit our strategic plan and the initiatives that we intended to complete this year, and I can re-apply myself and my team to ensuring their completion.  With 4 months to go, focus is critical.

And specifically, I am thinking about the focus that the EFBC uniquely provides.  Specialty Sales, and I personally, have been dealing with a very difficult personnel situation with a long-time employee.  In an emotionally fraught and professionally difficult situation, I always appreciate being able to confidentially discuss with my EFBC colleagues.  They provide empathy and shared experience, steeped in the EFBC culture of emotional intelligence, that allows me to focus on the business’s core values and my personal core values.

This clarity helps me move through the situation in line with our values, and get out of the “head trash” that can bog us all down when we are facing difficulties in our businesses.  I am grateful to the EFBC for that focus.

In other news, the EFBC is currently actively recruiting to our committees.  This is a member-run organization, which is what makes it great.  That requires members to volunteer their valuable time to keep the organization.  The good news, and I speak from experience, is that it is a two-way street.  Being on the board of the EFBC has been an enlightening experience of personal growth for me personally, and I highly recommend it.

We are currently looking for the following:

• Marketing & Membership: The M&M Committee is looking for members with marketing experience or interest, specifically in content marketing, that can help us share the value of the EFBC with even more prospective members.  We will be developing a strategy and working with staff to create, share and measure content to drive new member growth.
• Programming: The Programming Committee is looking for members who have an interest in driving the ideation and execution of all the events we provide to members.

If you have interest, please reach out to Liz Fidanovski or Bob Carmody, our current Governance Chair, who are actively working on committee succession and recruitment.

Lastly, I’m excited to share that we’ve recently rolled out an update to our EFBC CommunityHub mobile app. You may have already noticed the new, sleeker design. The homepage now features a “summary” of all the pages available in the menu, providing a dashboard-style overview at a glance – from posts and events to groups and the discussion board. This update is aimed at making it even easier for you to stay connected and engaged with our community. If you haven’t downloaded the app and activated your account yet, please do so by clicking here to download it from the Apple Store and here to get it on Google Store.

Warm regards,

Darrin Shillair – EFBC President 2024-2025

Leveraging Technology to Drive Business Growth

Making Today’s Tech Trends Work for You

From e-commerce to customer service chatbots, it seems that these days every company is a “tech” company on some level, and for a good reason. The right technology, when used correctly, can help businesses deliver better customer experiences, improve efficiency, and drive growth.

But using the “right technology,” and using it in the correct manner to achieve your desired outcomes, isn’t always as easy as it seems. Navigating the various options available to you can seem like a full-time job, and you also have a business to run! Not to mention, integrating new technology into your business practices can be challenging at its best, and scary (with more than 2,200 cyber-attacks occurring daily) at its worst.

So, which new technologies are right for your business? And how do you make sure the rewards of using them outweigh the potential drawbacks? Of course, the answer to those questions ultimately lies in your hands, but there are certain market-wide trends to be on the lookout for. And we’re here to break down four of those trends (as well as potential risks associated with them), so you can make the most informed decisions possible about your business needs in terms of tech.

• Tech Trend #1: Increased Cyber-Security

First thing’s first: protect yourself. As businesses increasingly turn to technology run their operations and store important data, they leave themselves vulnerable to cyber-attacks, and even legal action, if that operational data isn’t well managed and protected. As stated above, over 2,299 cyber-attacks occur daily, so having some form of cybersecurity is crucial in order to protect your business, your employees, your customers, and yourself. Luckily, there are a number of cybersecurity solutions available, including firewalls, anti-virus software, multi-factor authentication, and encryption. Keep in mind, every added layer of security protection does have an accessibility trade-off. Firewalls can block websites that employees need to be able to access, multi-factor authentication takes time and requires employees to have multiple devices, and so on. Consider these trade-offs and the level of security needed to protect the type of data you work with on a daily basis. Other security strategies that businesses are starting to employ include phishing tests and standardized cybersecurity trainings throughout the year. These strategies are shown to reduce the instances of security-compromising employee mistakes by up to 60%.

• Tech Trend #2: Cloud Computing

Chances are that your business is already using some sort of cloud computing. Cloud computing is a tech trend that is here to stay, especially as remote work continues to be the norm, because it is the only way employees can collaborate and access company resources without being physically in the same location. It’s also a money saver because it is highly scalable and reduces the need for expensive hardware and software. So, for cloud computing, it’s not really a question of “if,” but “which one?” The top three most popular cloud service providers are currently Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and the Google Cloud platform. Different industries tend to have different standards and preferences in terms of which of these they use, so it’s worth looking into which cloud service provider is most popular in your industry. Choosing that “most popular” option will reduce employee learning curves, as new hires are more likely to be familiar with the industry standard. It’s also worth thinking about the security/accessibility tradeoffs associated with each of these platforms. Microsoft tends to be looked at as a more secure, but less user-friendly, option, whereas Google Cloud offers a little less in terms of security but is very user-friendly. Take your specific business needs into account when deciding which one to use.

• Tech Trend #3: Generative AI

When we talk about AI in 2024, we’re usually actually talking about a subset of the technology called “generative AI:” AI that creates things like text and pictures. Other forms of AI, such as facial recognition and smart assistants, have been around for a while, and may already have a place in your business practices. But generative AI has only relatively recently become accessible on a wide scale, and businesses across industries are grappling with how to use it ethically and effectively.

Like with cloud computing, there are many different applications to choose from when it comes to generative AI. Open AI’s platforms (like Chat GPT) are among the most broad, popular, and user-friendly, but industry and job-specific technologies in this subset are being developed all the time. So, if you have a specific task you feel your business could benefit from partially off-loading onto AI, it’s worth looking into what already exists, as well as what other businesses in your industry are using. With AI, content generation can happen quickly, saving time and manpower.

Keep in mind, however, that generative AI is only as good as the data it is trained on, which means it can be unoriginal at its best and, at its worst, can be subject to biases and stereotypes associated with that training data. That’s where the ethics piece comes in. It’s important when employing this technology to do so IN TANDEM with trusted creators and DEI teams who know your brand and how to protect it.

• Tech trend #4: Business Process Automation (BPA)

For family-owned and entrepreneurial businesses, maximizing efficiency while maintaining a personal touch is crucial. Business Process Automation (BPA) is a technology trend that helps streamline repetitive, time-consuming tasks, allowing your team to focus on higher-value activities that drive business growth. BPA involves using software to automate routine processes such as invoicing, payroll, inventory management, customer relationship management (CRM), and even aspects of sales and marketing.

For example, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems like Salesforce can automate customer interactions and sales processes, ensuring that no lead or opportunity falls through the cracks. Similarly, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems can automate and centralize core business functions, providing real-time visibility into operations, financials, and supply chain activities.

In family businesses, where roles and responsibilities often overlap, BPA can help create clear, efficient workflows that ensure tasks are completed accurately and on time. However, while automation can save time and reduce operational costs, it’s essential to maintain a personal touch in areas that require human interaction, such as customer service and client relationships.

Conclusion: Balancing Technology with Human Expertise

While the latest technology doesn’t make or break a business, it is a tool (and an increasingly important one) that can help your business grow and stay both solvent and competitive. The right combination of cyber security, cloud computing, generative AI and BPA can protect your business while taking it to the next level. But, with any new technology, there are always risks. Those risks include learning curves and security concerns of course, but they also include homogenization and the risk of losing the beating heart of your business: its people.

As a leader, it’s up to you to decide how much of your business operations you want to automate or delegate to technology. However, be cautious about over-reliance on tech, as it’s your employees and their unique contributions that will ultimately set your business apart.