WEALTHY WORDS
Chapter in bestseller
Local financial adviser Peter Dobrich already has starting a successful business and two Memorial Cups as a former co-owner of the Windsor Spitfires on his resume, but now he can add published author of an Amazon bestseller.
Dobrich was asked to write a chapter on succession planning for the recently published book Build Wealth Like a Shark: Insights From Some of North America's Leading Authorities.
The book held the top spot on Amazon's bestseller list in several financial advice categories earlier this year and currently sits in the seventh spot.
“They approached my company to do a collaboration on wealth building with Kevin Harrington (ABC'S Shark Tank),” said Dobrich of being asked to participate by well-known business coach and speaker Scott Keffer.
“I did it because it activated a sense of purpose. I've seen good decisions and poor decisions, but most importantly over the years what I have seen is the lack of decisions. That's what got me motivated to get involved.”
Dobrich added he like the concept of the book where 31 authors with expertise in their fields would contribute a chapter.
The authors also came from both sides of the Canada-u.s. border.
“This gives you a real range of advice on different areas on both sides of the border that gives you a good cross-section for building wealth in both countries,” Dobrich said.
The book is available through Amazon, Kindle or can be ordered form Dobrich's Private Financial Group at One Riverside Drive West, Suite 303. Dobrich added with his firm, which he founded 25 years ago, having a focus on succession planning for family businesses, it was logical for him to cover that topic.
Having grown up in his family's business, Double D Distributors, Dobrich has lived his advice.
He said the key steps in succession planning are facing the issues, equalization among family members and what life print or impact are you trying to leave long term.
“I've seen so many families build businesses their whole lives and, because of a lack of succession planning, it winds up tearing the family apart,” Dobrich said.
“Of second- and third-generation family businesses, 90 per cent of them fail.”
He noted that's a higher risk of failure than starting a business where the failure rate is about 70 per cent. Dobrich said most of
You can't expect behavioural change unless you start with facing the issues.
these failures can be traced to not wanting to face decisions involving the founder's mortality and the family dynamics involving siblings and surviving spouses.
“You can't expect behavioural change unless you start with facing the issues involved,” Dobrich said. “Communication is key.
“You have to learn whether the kids you want to pass the business down to really have a passion for it. Often, they're doing it just to satisfy their parents.”
Dobrich said rivalries and jealousy among siblings creates a toxic mix that parents just don't want to deal with in creating an equalization plan when offspring don't want to work in the business.
“These are smart people, but facing deep-rooted dynamics and your own mortality is something some don't want to do,” said Dobrich of why too many people don't have a succession plan.
“The worst thing I hear is when people say, `They can take care of it after I'm gone.'”
Among the other topics covered in the book are: the principle of true wealth, seven major financial blind spots, worst retirement-income strategies, three reasons to never invest in real estate and how to avoid financial divorce disasters.