John and Dave Zavoral spend a lot of time together. For one, John is Dave\u2019s uncle, so there are birthdays, holidays, and racquetball \u2014 every morning at 5:30 a.m.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to pick him up and bring him to racquetball, but now he drives himself,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n
The early start time is not negotiable because the two have to get to work at RJ Zavoral & Sons, Inc.<\/a>, a construction company in East Grand Forks, Minnesota.<\/p>\n \u201cDoes it seem strange from the outside that the people that I go to work with every day are the same people that I hang out with on the weekends or spend holidays with?\u201d said Dave, the vice president of the company, which employs 29 family members. \u201cYeah, I\u2019m sure it does seem strange. I often get the comment from people like, \u2018well how do you make that work?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Five family members own equal shares of the company. John, the 65-year-old second-generation CEO, is teaching them everything he knows about running the business, because the family is about to make a big decision: They\u2019re going to vote on who will take over when John retires.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, they\u2019re being groomed, and we meet once a week and we all kind of do a consensus of what direction we\u2019re going,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to be based on strengths. Family dynamics are involved, but I think it\u2019ll all work out.\u201d<\/p>\n RJ Zavoral & Sons is one of 6 million small and medium-sized businesses expected to change hands<\/a> over the next decade as baby boomers move into retirement<\/a>, according to the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility. The generation accounts for more than half<\/a> of the country\u2019s total wealth, and their transition away from work will have deep implications for the economy. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s going to be an oversupply of businesses that are going to be available,\u201d said Nick Noel, a senior fellow at the McKinsey Institute for Economic Mobility. \u201cAnd if they can\u2019t find folks that are willing to buy those businesses that are otherwise viable, [they] will have to shut down.\u201d<\/p>\n Noel expects 1.5 million viable businesses will disappear. And in states like Montana, Vermont, and Maine, small and medium-sized businesses make up half of total employment.<\/p>\n