18 - 1 chapter 18 the family as entrepreneur. 18 - 2
TRANSCRIPT
18 - 8
Family Business Challenges
• Family squabbles in the business• Family and non-family employees caught up in
conflicts
• Succession planning• Can you afford to put off deciding?
• Who's in charge• Should the owner run the business?• Family power struggles and rivalries
• Under qualified family members• Balancing business needs and family loyalties
Source: http://www.stanislawconsulting.com/family_business_challenges.html
18 - 9
Family Business Challenges
• Family member privileges at work• Impact on other family members and non-family
employees
• Complex interactions between family and business• Conflicts involving love and power
• Management out of touch with business realities• Long-term family management resulting in an
inaccurate, stale perspective
• Non-Pecuniary Goals• Family may seek other goals, like security or “staying
together” or “preserving the legacy”
18 - 10
Resolving Challenges
• Some commentators recommend families must become more business-like• Objectivity and transparency in all dealings• Clear succession plans• Training and development• Written policies and procedures
• Others recommend some sort of family therapy or conflict resolution process• A lot of different therapies on the market though• May also involve non-family members
18 - 12
Project Management
• The best project management systems include:• Project planning• Workforce planning• Time and expense tracking• Cost and revenue accounting• Analytics – on time and on budget?
• Both web-based and stand alone product• Free open source software:
http://openproj.org/openproj
18 - 13
Why Use PM Software?
• There are a number of benefits:• Forces you to logically consider all steps in a
project• Most programs allow nesting (or sub-tasks)
• Makes dependencies (bottlenecks) explicit• Provides budget estimates based on tasks• Enables you to track changes to the plan and
provide new budget and completion estimates
18 - 14
Billing & Time Management
• As most consultants bill hourly, it is important to have an effective way of tracking time. The best software:• Tracks time/billable hours by client or project• Allows additional expenses• Has an automated timer• Generates invoices and tracks billings• Links to accounting system
• Wide variety of options:• Web-based• Stand alone• Mobile apps