Marc Scudillo, managing partner of the wealth management and corporate benefits practice at EisnerAmper, said one of his family-business clients had two relatives on the payroll when a buyout offer came in about four years ago. But the price “was not feasible to maintain (the owner’s) lifestyle, so we put the sale on hold.” Scudillo said he and his team developed a business plan to boost the company’s revenues, “to help get a higher price in a few years.”

Additionally, one of the relatives employed by the company wasn’t going to be offered a job with the new owners, so “that individual was able to get some training to transition to a new career,” Scudillo said.

Four years later, the business was sold for 25 percent more than the original offer, and the displaced family member had a new job commensurate with the previous family-business income.

In this case, deciding to sell the business motivated the owner to take steps to make the enterprise more successful.

“The catalyst was the financial repercussions that could have occurred” if the owner had not changed gears, Scudillo said. By spending several years on the transition, the owner could deal with larger concerns like not having to adjust to a lower standard of living, or worry about relatives being laid off following a sale.

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