Once your management team is in place, it is important to get their input, as well as that of other key staff members – particularly family members – when defining a business plan.
Your business plan should be structured to include a clear set of goals and objectives that you would like to achieve with the business, a management and personnel organisation chart which clearly outlines the business hierarchy previously decided upon, and a brief plan of how the business finances should be managed, utilized and divided.
The importance of getting input on this plan from key staff members is to ensure that the goals of the individuals align with the overall goals of the business and to make sure that members of the family involved in the business are aware of the direction that the business is taking in order to achieve these goals. This awareness, along with the tangibility of the written plan and an attempt at aligning family and business goals will help to avoid confusion and conflict down the line, while having a professional structure in place will help to defuse emotionally charged disagreements that may arise in the future.