Family Office 101 with FOX’s Glen Johnson
NOTE: This episode was recorded at the beginning of COVID-19.
In This Episode:
In this episode, Glen Johnson and I dive into family offices: what they are, who should and should not start one, how to get started, and best practices. Glen has over thirty years of experience working with family offices, business owners and executives, and he shares a lot of his wisdom in this episode.
If you are wondering if a family office is right for you, consider this question:
“How much together-ness do you want?” Glen Johnson on starting a family office
This basic question can help you decide which family office option (there are many) may be right for you.
Other prerequisites to making an educated decision include:
- Assets (this one may be obvious)
- Educating yourself, getting up to speed on what a family office is and isn’t (this episode is a good first step)
- Understanding the benefits and pitfalls about the many family office options
- Defining what exactly you (and your family) are looking for
- Asking who in your family wants to participate
If family members don’t want to participate, that’s okay. It doesn’t mean you have a dysfunctional family, it just means they don’t want to participate. It’s better to know that now.
For common misconceptions, really good best practices, and shared resources, Glen and I invite you to listen to the full episode.
Enjoy!
Here are the questions I asked Glen:
- What is a family office?
- Who should create a family office? Who Shouldn’t?
- How do you get started? Do you have to have billions of dollars to start a family office?
- Who should lead a family office?
- What are a few best practices and lessons learned?
- What are a few resources newbies should check out when thinking about starting a family office?
- What is FOX’s role?
- How can we connect with you?
Guest Bio:
Glen Johnson
Chief Operating Officer
Family Office Exchange (FOX)
Glen Johnson is Chief Operating Officer at Family Office Exchange (FOX). In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of the member experience, ensuring that each family member, family office executive, and trusted advisor has an unsurpassed experience partnering with FOX by providing unique industry knowledge and insights coupled with a safe and confidential environment where members can share best practices. In addition, Glen oversees the operations of FOX and is charged with establishing and executing systems to execute FOX’s strategic plan, promoting it’s vision and service-centric culture, and enabling the FOX team to work together to exceed our member’s expectations.
Glen has over 30 years of experience working with family offices, business owners, and executives, first as an attorney and then as a wealth advisor, eventually founding Mirador Family Wealth Advisors – the multi-family office for Fifth Third Bank. He has worked with business owners and executives across all stages of their business life cycle including business succession. Glen writes and speaks nationally focusing on family and business governance and the unique challenges faced during the sale and transition of closely held businesses.
Glen earned a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Education from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI and a Juris Doctorate degree from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, MI.
Resources From This Episode:
Joshua Nacht Episode on Family Champions
Rising Generation Education with Mindy Earley
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