While part of the Lively Merchant team is snowbound in Ohio, another part is sitting on a beach in Florida (the only state in the Union without snow). What’s wrong with this picture?
Whether you’re running low on bread and beer after the South’s worst snow event in 15 years or you live south of the Equator, here’s some recently publisher reading material to keep you occupied until you dig out:
Furniture World Magazine :: by David Lively
Four men stand chatting causally in a golf club locker room after their round of 18 holes when a ringing phone interrupts their conversation. “Sure, I can talk,” says the man who answers the call. “You’re out shopping? That’s nice.” His eavesdropping friends smile knowingly at each other. “You want to buy that new living room and dining room group? Okay… and they’ll include the custom rug for an extra five thousand? Sure, why not?” The grins grow wider among the listeners. “You want to book a week-long vacation in Hilton Head? What’s that, they’re holding the price at ten thousand? Sounds like a bargain to me! Let’s go for two weeks instead!” Slowly, the smiles fade to expressions of envy. “And you want to give the builder the go-ahead for the new outdoor kitchen and pool? Fifty-five thousand if we say yes today? Sounds fair… sure, that’s fine.” The listeners exchange glances of amazement. “Okay, honey, see you later. I love you, too,” says the man as he ends the call. He looks slyly at his friends and asks… Read more
Furniture World Magazine :: by David Lively
“The father buys, the son builds, the grandchild sells, and his son begs,” goes an old Scottish proverb. The Americanized version says, “Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” The founding generation starts with nothing, works hard and amasses wealth, but by the time their great-grandchildren have come of age, the family is back where it started: nothing. With business under such tremendous pressure and the furniture industry failure rate at its highest in over 25 years, it is useful to reconcile these timeless truths with what is going on in today’s family furniture businesses.
Do you recognize yourself in the stereotypical framework for the family business lifecycle? Read more
Family Businesses Are a Cornerstone of Furniture Retailing—Here Are Ways to Help Keep Them Thriving
Home Furnishings Business :: by Powell Slaughter
“With the transition from third to fourth generation, less than 5 percent of companies survive,” Lively said. “The numbers are the same transferring from sibling to sibling. Businesses just don’t get this. They think its only about writing a stock purchase agreement and transferring ownership.”
For his family business clients, Lively conducts an eight-step “Family Health-Risk Assessment.”
“We interview every family member, whether they work at the company or not, and any management within the organization who has decision-making capability, one-on-one, face-to-face,” he said. “Based on the results of those interviews, you have to deal with a lot of different issues—legal, financial and interpersonal. You have to line up the reasons why family businesses get themselves into trouble with the transition.”
Nine reasons typical reasons for trouble include… Read more
Furniture World Magazine :: by David Lively
Have you ever read about a time when people believed the world was flat? Or when it was thought the sun revolved around the earth? Sure you have. Well, just as accepted truth about our physical world changes, so do our notions about doing business. In fact, the business landscape is littered with the carcasses of people who were certain they knew the truth… right up until the day they found out that they didn’t!
So that your furniture business doesn’t end up on that trash heap of out dated truths, you should take some time, before it is too late, to review the kinds of people you hire. Read more
Catch The Lively Merchant in Vegas this week during the first Next Generation-NOW educational session at the Las Vegas Furniture Market on Tuesday, January 25 from 4:00 – 5:00 pm in the new Retailer Resource Center, WMC-C488/496.
Don’t forget the Third Annual Ante 4 Autism Texas Hold’em Poker Tournament at Binion’s (Downtown Las Vegas) on Tuesday, January 25, at 7:00 pm. Click here to register or donate online. All donations and $50 from each registration will go to support Autism Speaks, whose mission is to increase awareness about the growing Autism epidemic and raise funds for research, family services and advocacy in local communities and nationwide.
