Authors: Leslie Dashew, Sam Lane, Joe Paul, Darrell Beck and William Roberts

Publisher: Aspen Family Business Group. 216 pages

Book Review by Ramu Nakliba

A very large number of Asian Indian families own businesses. According to the US Census of 2000, about seven out of every 10 Asian-Indian families in the United States own a business.

For this reason alone, this book is important. How to avoid conflicts and nurture the business to growth and smooth succession is the main theme of this book.

Among other needs and “how-to’s” this book shows you to:

  • Work fruitfully in a family-owned business with co-owners and co-workers.
  • Make the family business grow so it can employ non-family employees
  • Avoid conflicts and manage egos so that there is harmony in the business
  • Discuss long-term goals of the family and the business and achieve them
  • Figure out your own role and others’ roles in the family business
  • Ensure the family business is kept intact and it keeps on making money

The authors cover a wide range of topics and questions that inevitably arise in running a family business. Among them are how to assess the value of the family business, sort out the various issues and seek help in doing so if needed.

One of the first and most important tasks in growing a family business is to understand it carefully: how money is made and spent, including how much is made, how much is spent and how much is retained on a monthly and yearly basis and whether those numbers are growing, shrinking or pretty much remaining the same: in other words knowing the rough numbers of the income and balance sheet of the business.

Building proper and successful communication among family members who own parts of the business but do not work in it, family members who have some ownership and also work in the business, and employees who make an income but have no ownership in the business.

A lot of other details on the dos and don’ts of the business are explained in this book. All in all the authors have done a good job in providing the information and insight essential to owning, operating and growing a family business.