Family-owned businesses put high value on next generation of owners
Creating a successful family-owned company comes with a pride in providing opportunity for future generations that appears to be of higher value to area executives than ever entertaining outside offers to buy their businesses.
“I would say we’re just not interested in selling. I think that’s the bottom line,” said Clifton Phelps, vice president of business development for Milwaukee-based JCP Construction, which he established in 2008 with his brothers, James and Jalin. “I think what we’re trying to do is get to a second generation, third generation.”
Phelps was among a dozen area executives from family-owned businesses in Wisconsin who gathered during a roundtable discussion hosted by the Milwaukee Business Journal at Tri City National Bank in Oak Creek. They were asked whether they had ever considered offers to sell their family-owned businesses and also discussed other topics including how they manage their companies in today’s economy, misconceptions about family-owned companies and preparing the next generation of family to inherit a business.
