Keeping afloat in turbulent waters

Family-owned businesses can navigate the current crisis by reviewing their business operations, wealth management strategies, and succession plans.

Published Thu, May 28, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Startups

THE engineering involved in modern-day ships is extraordinary. Hulls are built in sections so that the overall structural integrity can be maintained even if one compartment is exposed to a sudden and massive inflow of water.

But everything has its breaking point and, if there is enough external force and pressure, then a ship will finally succumb and inevitably sink.

Many business owners - and the heads of large family wealth - will likely relate to this analogy right now as Covid-19 hits them from all directions at the same time. In fact, it is possibly one of the hardest periods that many have ever faced from an operational, wealth management and familial harmony perspective.

The stakes are incredibly high, and many will be forced to make decisions and trade-offs that they never deemed necessary before. And many of these decisions will need t…