“I run the family business, which was started by my parents. They asked me to take over, but now they can’t let go. They keep undermining my decisions and staff are getting confused about whose instructions to follow”

We all know it can be a roller-coaster of a ride being an entrepreneur, so having the right support from your family can be critical. On the flip side, it is also critical to find the right balance between dedicating time to your business and dedicating time to your loved ones. Failure to do so can lead to unhappy endings where relationships break down. So, if your objective as an entrepreneur is to create a better life for yourself and your family, managing these two crucial forces becomes...

How can we actively sustain our personal performance at work?

Looking after our physical selves at work has never been so important. At any level of the business, being overworked, receiving a lack of managerial support (above and below), plus constant change create ideal circumstances for pressure and ultimately, burnout. The picture is not improving either. 

The rates of work related stress in the UK have remained flat for over a decade (HSE 2016). Long working hours continue to be associated...

Almeda scoop double awards at the prestigious National Family Business Awards 2017! 

Family businesses make numerous, critical contributions to the economy and to family wellbeing. This is both in terms of money / income and such intangibles as time, flexibility, control and personal expertise …

... that’s if they work. When they don’t, family businesses can be difficult to manage and painful experiences, at best.

In the UK, two-thirds of all private sector firms are family businesses, contributing over half of GDP and around 40% of private sector employment.

Most family businesses will want to pass the business on to the next generation but relatively few actually do so – fewer than half of family businesses pass to the second generation, and only a fraction to the third.

Without formal succession planning, family-owned businesses run the risk of not being sustainable. Some owners regard succession...