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Privately Owned Businesses

  • Independent director remuneration – how much should you pay?

    • 12/01/2021
    • Posted by: Simon
    • Category: Governance, Owner Managers, Privately Owned Businesses
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    Director remuneration can be a step in to the unknown, especially for boards embarking on independent governance for the first time. Directors are primarily paid for their insights and knowledge, rather than the number of hours contributed.  This can require a change of mindset for business owners. Directors also need to be rewarded for the

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  • Employees as shareholders?

    • 25/06/2019
    • Posted by: Simon
    • Category: Employee Shares & Incentives, Privately Owned Businesses
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    Would sharing ownership with all of your employees make your business more successful? It’s a question most owners of medium sized, privately owned businesses consider at various stages along their journey.  I’m not convinced it’s a sensible path to take. Aligning interests? The key argument for a company wide Employee Share Plan (ESP) is that,

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  • So things aren’t so great with your GM?

    • 16/05/2019
    • Posted by: Simon
    • Category: General Business, Owner Managers, Privately Owned Businesses
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    I currently have three clients who face challenges with their General Manager. Maybe it’s something in the water? In all cases there is misalignment between the GM’s ability and the owner’s expectation. This, combined with soft leadership, has led to a gradual breakdown in communication and respect between the parties. Let me outline some of

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  • Hiring & incentivising your Managing Director

    • 29/03/2019
    • Posted by: Simon
    • Category: Employee Shares & Incentives, General Business, Privately Owned Businesses
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    Last month’s article on succession planning led to several questions around hiring and incentivising a new Managing Director. What comes first – the Managing Director or the strateggy? Tough call.  You can either undertake strategic planning and then hire an individual with the skills and experience to achieve the prescribed goals and vision. Or you

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  • Sell products, not services

    • 20/03/2019
    • Posted by: Simon
    • Category: General Business, Owner Managers, Privately Owned Businesses
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    If you want a scalable or sellable business then consider standardising your services in to products. I love services: creating them, pricing them, selling and delivering them.  But they have their challenges: the perils of time based billing, continual client tailoring and the need for more sophistication around staff engagement and management. Two recent experiences
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