This week, we reported on something pretty special. A new generation has taken the reins at Cheney Financial Group.
We congratulate the Hiltons and their extended family on this accomplishment. It represents an incredible level of dedication of family members through different generations, spanning several decades, and working to serve the community they work and live in.
Businesses don’t last for 70 years or get passed on to others without having a community connection and providing solid value for the people they serve. What is amazing is just how many multi-generational family-owned companies continue to operate within our region.
As defined by inc.com, a family-owned company is a business in which two or more family members operate the company and the majority of ownership or control lies within a family. There are, according to Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, about 5.5 million family-owned businesses in the U.S., which contribute 57% of the country’s gross domestic product, employ 63% of the national workforce, and account for 78% of all new job creation.
To provide a little perspective on what it means to transition between generations of a family-owned business, the Cornell site also summarizes statistics on generational transition from various sources. Approximately 40% of U.S. family-owned businesses turn over to a second generation, while only 13% are successfully passed to a third. Data shows that successfully transitioning to the fourth generation and beyond only happens to about 3% of companies.
With Cheney Financial Group making this transition, it marks an exciting time for the family and for new ideas to take root and build on a solid foundation. We wish the company, employees, and owners the best of luck.
As a fifth-generation family-owned business ourselves, this type of story hits close to our hearts.
Small businesses help make up the heart of this community, and stories like this that share the inside information about the businesses and companies in the county are important. We have always tried to cover new businesses, change of ownership of companies, and significant milestones reached by our local employers, but we know there are always more behind-the-scene stories that could be told.
As our editorial staff continues to look ahead to what new features we can offer, we hope to increase the visibility of our vibrant local business community, sharing the successes and challenges of the ventures operating in Lincoln County day in and day out. Whether this looks similar to the “Characters of the County” column or takes on a new format all together is currently unclear, but the goal will be to continue capturing the local stories that impact our community and influence our lives.
