Meet Drs. Phillip & Janice Porter | Family Business Educators & Curriculum Developers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Drs. Phillip & Janice Porter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Drs. Phillip & Janice, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?

The four most important factors behind our success are: 1. Motivated Vision: We implemented a written motivating business vision linked to a written inspiring family vision and successfully communicated continuously to at least two generations. Both our business and family vision is based on our core values and family members involved in the business genuinely believe in the vision and mission.

2. Mastered Services: We have dedicated our life to mastering our craft by learning the industry’s best practices, obtaining the education/training, attaining the technical and soft skills, and securing the resources required to provide the best products and services to our students and clients. We continue to work diligently to improve our abilities, learn from our mistakes and strive for excellence.

3. Win-Win Partnerships: Established win-win partnerships and collaborations with organizations with similar visions and missions.

4. Proven Family Wealth-Building Curriculum: Provide our students and clients with a proven eLearning curriculum, professional guest lecturers, engaging online classes, workshops, and webinars.

What should our readers know about your business?

We are co-founders of Generations Empowerment Enterprises, LLC a privately held African American family-owned business, which recently expanded by adding the Global Family Success Institute Division referred to as (GFSI). Collectively, we have over 50 years of leadership, education, business, and training experience. We have successfully educated, mentored, inspired, and provided proven tools and resources to individuals, families, and family-owned businesses to help families achieve their goals and dreams. This is accomplished via our commitment and passion for empowering and transforming families by using a proven interactive family-focused wealth-building curriculum and soft skills online training, webinars, workshops/conferences, and one-on-one coaching.

Vision Statement: To be a leading global educational institution that educates, trains, and coaches family enterprises, students, and community leaders in practical principles to balance family traditions, relationships, business, and ownership needs in a safe learning environment.

Mission Statement: To partner with educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and experienced professionals with an EdTech platform by providing our trusted online adult education courses to families and students worldwide.

We started our business because, for many years prior, people kept asking us how our family started a family business, influencing over 30 family members from 3 generations to invest their time and money into the business and not break the family apart. In 2016, we decided to answer this question and more by writing a book titled “The Power In A Vision Driven Family: The Journey To A Generational Vision”. We gave a copy of the book to our pastor. After reading the book, our pastor asked us to conduct a “Vision Driven Family Workshop” at our church. The workshop pushed us to create and publish a workbook titled “The Power In A Vision Driven Family Workbook: Journey To A Generational Vision”. The workshop was extremely successful and surpassed our expectations. This one workshop propelled us to conduct more workshops throughout the United States. As a result of conducting successful workshops and selling books, we started The Global Family Success Institute (GFSI), which is a division of our family business Generations Empowerment Enterprises, LLC.

What makes us unique is three-fold. First, according to the Harvard Business Review, “70% of family-owned businesses fail or are sold before the second generation gets a chance to take over. Just 10% remain active, privately held companies for the third generation to lead”. What sets us apart is that the GFSI was founded to help primarily African American, and people of color family businesses navigate the complex dynamics of extended family members working together, learning together, succeeding together, and building wealth together. The Global Family Success Institute is an eLearning education company that provides family success, business, and wealth-building online courses to help family businesses achieve their goals and dreams. Our educational program workshops can be customized to the family’s business, culture, and heritage. A few of our online courses are:
• The 10 Best Practices of Successful Families
• The 10 Best Practices of Wealthy Families
• Four Steps To Successful Partnerships and Collaborations
• Secrets To A Successful Multigenerational Household Lifestyle

Second, we offer much-needed online family success courses that are not readily available. For example, we offer a course titled “Heirs Property Probate Readiness Course”. According to the USDA National Department of Agricultural, heirs’ property is most predominant among African American landholders, contributing to land loss from 4.7 million to 16 million acres over the last hundred years.

Third, is our VIP Content Partners Program. We partner with professionals such as authors, financial advisors, wealth managers, business consultants, real estate developers, life coaches, ministers, etc. who have classes and are looking for a way to sell their courses online. Through our VIP Content Partners Program, professionals can sell their own online courses on the GFSI online platform and generate income. Our family-friendly platform has everything you need to run your own online courses under one roof.

The main strategy that got us where we are today was setting and achieving aggressive short and long-term goals and each year purposefully building on top of the goals previously achieved. Major accomplishments include:
• Co-founded Generations Empowerment Enterprises, LLC (GEE) a privately held African American family-owned business. Under their leadership, the company expanded by adding the Global Family Success Institute – Online Family School of Wealth.
• Established a 10-member family board of directors that has effectively managed their family business and heir’s property.
• Wrote and published eight books. Their top seller “The Power In A Vision Driven Family Workbook” became extremely popular and propelled them to create and facilitate a series of multigenerational family success webinars and workshops nationwide.
• Created and implemented the “Certification In Family Success” and “Heirs Property Probate Readiness” programs that are offered online and onsite through local community nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and businesses.
• Presented at the National Association of African American Studies & Affiliates Virtual National Conference on the topic “The 10 Best Practices of Successful Families” in 2020.
• Successfully eliminated over $50,000 in personal debt within 36 months by living a multigenerational family lifestyle based on their family vision.

Achieving these accomplishments was not easy and it took longer than we planned. However, we overcame our challenges by learning and working together like a winning T.E.A.M. which means Together Each Achieves More.

To be a successful generational family business, we learned that our family business must possess the following 6 key components:
1. Vision: Implement a motivating business vision that is strongly linked to the inspiring family vision and successfully communicated continuously to a minimum of two generations.
2. Training/Education: A successful professional and soft skills training and leadership development program must be a priority. We learned that family businesses must learn together intergenerationally giving them the knowledge to sustain their business long-term.
3. Board of Directors/Advisors: A board of directors and advisors that is comprised of professional and experienced non-family members and a minimum of two generations of qualified, experienced, and trusted family members.
4. Customer Service: Provide a unique product or service with great customer service.
5. Partnerships: Established win-win partnerships and collaborations with organizations that have similar visions and missions.
6. Professional Memberships: Join professional memberships and networking organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce.

We want the world to know that we have a trusted wealth-building intergenerational education program that will help small and large families by providing them with facts, knowledge, tools, and motivation to build generational wealth.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Favorite Restaurants: Monarch Steakhouse, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, Babe’s Chicken Dinner House, El Fenix, and Abuelo’s Mexican Restaurant

Fun: Six Flags Over Texas, The Star Districts, Dallas Cowboys Stadium Tour, and The Dallas World Aquarium

Visit: Local community parks for walking and jogging

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We would like to dedicate our shoutout to our parents who have gone on before us for their love, family vision, wisdom, work ethics, encouragement, and support: • Rev. Dr. James & Barbara Jean Lambert Porter
• Willie Lethell & Elvalene Magee Williams

Website: https://globalfamilysuccess.thinkific.com

Instagram: @globalfamilysuccess

Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/phillipporter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/globalfamilysuccess

Other: Company Website: https://www.globalfamilysuccess.com