Stephen Shortt of Successful Succession Headshot

Does your business strategy include a succession plan?

A business that is divided, can usually not agree on any of the decisions that it makes. These types of issues affect all areas of the business, including marketing.

Today we are going a little bit off the beaten path on SEO.  This episode is dedicated to people who are looking to learn SEO for a family business.

When families run their businesses and the business is split between an older and younger generation, there can be stressors between the two groups on how to run and market their business, let alone which tactics to use, which could include SEO, Local SEO, Local Search Ads (LSA), and more.

That is why I have brought in an expert on business succession to go over the main issues that face family businesses and pathways to overcome the friction of multi-generation family businesses and business succession.

Businesses that align among the generations with a succession plan will be able to move forward, working together as a unit, where they can have a strategy on how they will market their business.

 It is my pleasure to welcome Stephen Shortt to the show.

Stephen Shortt Bio:

Stephen grew up in two family businesses and started a few of his own.  Having bought both family businesses from his parents and growing them internationally, Stephen learned a lot about successful succession planning and making some mistakes along the way…

Stephen is the former global chair of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, which supports young, emerging entrepreneurs in over 50 countries around the world – which was the basis for the Disney+ / National Geographic Documentary “Own the Room”.  Stephen has also served on the global committee for EO Accelerator, which supports entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses to €1m+ per year.  He was a founding member and Past President of the Irish chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization.

Stephen is a succession planning coach; strategy facilitator; team development coach; leadership coach, and personality profiler.

Stephen has delivered keynotes, facilitated workshops, and taught leadership academies in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceana.

Stephen is honored to act on several advisory boards; as a coach for accelerator companies scaling up their businesses; as an angel investor, and as a mentor to emerging entrepreneurs in Ireland and internationally.

All of Stephen’s projects, businesses, and programs feed into his core purpose “To help people Aspire to a better future and Empower them to get there”.

Stephen and his Spanish wife have two bilingual daughters and try to spend as much holiday time in Spain as possible.

Resources

LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenshortt/

Successful Successionhttps://successfulsuccession.com/

What you need to know if you have a Family Business [White Paper]https://successfulsuccession.com/what-you-need-to-know-if-you-own-a-family-business/

NextGentreprenur Academyhttps://successfulsuccession.com/nextgentrepreneur-academy/

Killer Family Business Podcasthttps://open.spotify.com/show/52sDNaF1wJeMfqw8Ghvkgg

Questions for Stephen

  • How do you figure out a future vision for a family business?
  • How do we pick the right NextGen leader for the business?
  • How can we prepare both generations for the transition?
  • What are common pain points when families talk about business succession?
  • Can you talk about how the businesses strategy might change based upon success?
  • With inflation increasing, how does this impact business succession?
  • Can you talk about what typically happens if a family can’t agree on a business succession plan?
  • Can you talk about your aha moment or breakthroughs you have had while working with businesses on succession?
  • In 2023, what issues do you see impacting business succession?
  • How can businesses reach out to you for help?

Episode # 13 Transcript

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