Many Bermudian families have built up their own thriving businesses over a number of years, but their future success could be in doubt if they do not have a proper succession plan in place to pass it on to the next generation.

That is according to Grant Robinson and Daphne McGuffin, of The SuccessCare Program, an initiative which enables a successful transition of privately-owned and family businesses. They will be holding a one-day training seminar for local entrepreneurs, small business owners, families and advisers at the Newstead Belmont Hills Resort between 8.30 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. today.

About 35 attendees are expected to participate in the event, which is sponsored by Butterfield Bank, the Freisenbruch-Meyer Group and Small Business Advisers, who brought Mr. Robinson and his team to Bermuda.

Mr. Robinson, who is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Canada and has more than 25 years of accounting experience and coaching entrepreneurs and their families how to plan for the future, is a partner at Canadian-based Robinson & Company LLP partnership team, with expertise in business consulting and advisory services.

Within the SuccessCare Program, he focuses on helping clients to develop and implement estate and wealth plans, and guides them through the steps to plan an appropriate exit strategy.

"Eighty percent of families would like their business to transition down through their family, but only 30 percent make it through to the next generation," said Mr. Robinson. "We work with family businesses to help people get going, to create a plan and then to act on it - which is going to be the focus for this training programme."

Mr. Robinson said the owner of a family business has two choices when they pass on their company or operation - to sell voluntarily or involuntarily (as a result of their death or due to an economic situation) to a family member or outside the family.

"Bermuda is just an incredible family business market - families are really big on this Island in that everybody knows everybody," he said.

"You have all of the issues of running and selling your business, but the whole family system overrules that and overreaches everything."

Mr. Robinson said he hoped his seminar would help get the ball rolling and people thinking about how to pass their business on to future generations, while maintaining the operation in a good shape and ensuring fair and equitable transfer of ownership. However, he recognises that succession planning can be a sensitive subject.

"It is all about family dynamics and are they going to work well - and I don't think Bermuda is any different to anywhere else in that respect," said Mr. Robinson.

"For most families this is a really tough topic - people don't like to think about succession because it can relate to their death or taking all of their power away.

"We are simply here to help the entrepreneur to come up with their own game plan because if they come up with it they will most likely in turn commit to it."

With the 'Baby Boomer' generation (post World War II - 1946 to 1964) thinking about selling or 'gifting' their family-owned businesses to the next generation there is set to be a big global transfer of wealth involving possibly trillions of dollars, it is even more important now than ever for company owners to proactively protect their empire.

It is predicted that in the next five to 10 years almost 75 percent of businesses will change ownership and/or leadership as their owners reach retirement age.

Mr. Robinson recently published 'Great Expectations' - a novel on entrepreneurial aspirations and the issues facing family businesses.

For more information about succession planning contact Grant Robinson on (519) 780-2011 or (800) 598-6400, email grant@successcare.com or visit the website at www.successcare.com