KENNESAW, Ga. | Oct 31, 2025

Adam Hatcher, Twenty One Clear

When you work in and own your family company together, you face constant inflection points, like new family members wanting to join or whether to reinvest or distribute cash. These issues, if handled informally, can create tension or chaos amongst your family employees and owners.

Your solution is a family business meeting. These meetings, which can include owners, employees, and other family members, are the lynchpin of a healthy family company. I suggest holding them annually at the very least to keep everyone on the same page. Quarterly or biannually is even better.

Different than an offsite strategy session, a family business meeting is where you discuss matters like what perks if any are given to family employees, decide how family compensation is set, create a policy to invest in each other’s side ventures (or not), and build trust between the family owners, employees and members.

If you have not run a family business meeting this year, or ever, consider these next steps:

• Create a purpose. Should your family business meeting be collaborative or informative?
• Draft a list. Who should attend? I encourage you to think beyond your family executives or employees, including non-working family owners or other family members with relevant perspectives.
• Get help. I talked with a third generation CEO who, even after 20+ years with his family-owned company, had yet to hold a family business meeting. “Can you help me with this, and not mess up the company or the family?” The CEO recognized what I had learned in my family's company—family meetings are unique and getting outside help is important. Twenty One Clear provides support for family meetings and the Family Enterprise Center at KSU also has resources to recommend!

If you have not had a family meeting yet this year, Q4 is a great time to plan for a Q1 family meeting. Start the new year with positive momentum before the next disruptive inflection point comes along.

About the Expert: Adam Hatcher founded Twenty One Clear, a Georgia family business consulting firm, after 13 years scaling his family's company. The firm partners with family owned and operated companies that want to take their business to the next level while staying together as family. Adam outlines the approach in this recent podcast episode.

As the year winds down, it’s easy for businesses to focus only on finishing strong in Q4. But this is also the perfect time to look ahead—especially when it comes to tax preparation. For family businesses, tax planning isn’t just about dollars and deductions—it’s also about fairness, succession, and setting up the next generation for success.

The goal is clear: pay your fair share of taxes and no more. That means taking advantage of available credits, deductions, and timing strategies while keeping family priorities in mind. Here are some key guidelines for family businesses to consider this fall:

• Plan, plan, plan. A strong tax strategy adapts with changing family circumstances—such as new family members joining the business, shifting ownership stakes, or evolving succession timelines.
• Review family payroll. Ensure family members are paid fairly for the work they do. This keeps IRS compliance in check while reinforcing transparency within the family.
• Defer taxes when possible. Take a two-year view: should you accelerate deductions into 2025 or push them to 2026? Should you delay bonuses or dividends? Small shifts can benefit both the business and family shareholders.
• Invest in retirement. Contributions to retirement plans lower taxable income today and provide long-term security. Employer matches add free money—something for which future generations will thank you.
• Think about succession. Year-end is a natural moment to explore tax-efficient ways to gift shares, transfer assets, or fund trusts that align with your family’s long-term legacy plan.
• Mind the deadlines. Some expenses, like pension contributions, can be deducted this year even if not funded until your extended tax return due date. Timing matters.

Taxes shouldn’t be the sole driver of decisions, but for family businesses, they’re an essential part of balancing financial health with family goals.

Q4 is more than just a time for focusing on finishing the year well financially. It’s also a natural moment to reflect on leadership and legacy. For family businesses, this season offers an opportunity to think intentionally about succession. The good news? Passing the torch doesn’t have to happen all at once. Small, deliberate steps can create a smoother, stronger transition for both generations.

Research from PwC shows that only 34% of family businesses have a robust, documented succession plan, yet more than half expect leadership to transition in the next five years. Those numbers highlight the importance of not waiting until a crisis forces change. Instead, families can use the natural rhythms of the year—like year-end reviews—to practice mentoring and responsibility-sharing.

Here are a few ways to start:

• Assign ownership of a project. Invite a next-generation leader to take the lead on a holiday campaign, a client relationship, or a year-end planning initiative. Provide support, but allow them to make decisions.
• Pair reflection with coaching. As leaders review the year’s results, take time to share lessons learned and invite younger family members to share their perspectives on what worked—and what didn’t.
• Rotate responsibilities. Use Q4 as a checkpoint to transition one new responsibility each year, whether financial oversight, community engagement, or operations. Over time, these small shifts add up.

Succession is often imagined as a single handoff moment, but in reality it’s a series of small steps. By using Q4 as a season for mentoring and sharing responsibility, families can ensure leadership transitions feel natural, intentional, and deeply rooted in both business continuity and family legacy.

Want to learn more? PwC's 2023 US Family Business Survey