Family businesses often evolve along a continuum that we call the lifecycle. Thinking of your situation in this context can provide insight into growing pains you may be feeling or goals you want to set. I will describe the lifecycle with the caveat that this is a simplification; in reality, there may be overlap among the stages.

We find that many of our farm clients are in some combination of the Stable and Professional stage; or they are trying to transition into the Professional stage. Growing pains often help you see the need for change. You realize you have 10, 20, or more employees and you need to better define who’s in charge of what. You can’t manage benefits and time off and policy decisions on a case-by-case basis anymore. You need to hire a very skilled (CFO, agronomist, you-name-it) and they will be part of the ‘executive’ management team. You now have four owners who are cousins and decisions aren’t made informally around the dinner table. All those complexities lead to a need for more definition and usually more intentional communication.