On the surface, running a family business is the same as other businesses: there are strategies, partners, suppliers, customers and products.

Yet family businesses have one more element to deal with – the family itself!

This not-so-simple element creates a much bigger deal for the family businesses to handle and how you manage that will make or break the success of the family business.

Here are some of the unique issues that family businesses have to deal with:

How to entice the next generation to take over the business?
How to teach them about business in the new world?
How to embrace the difference in ideas between current and future owners?
How to position the business so that it continues to grow in spite of the transition?
How to structure the new shareholding?
How to enhance the business value?
How to preserve the family’s wealth?
How to let go?

Each of these challenges adds much more stress and pressure onto the family business owner, making running this business much more difficult!