THE COMPLEXITIES OF RUNNING FAMILY BUSINESSES take a great deal of skill to reduce into 150 pages of helpful information. Those in business rarely have time to read more.

The work is research based yet rooted in personal experience. Mother worked in a family business and was responsible for both managing the accounts and collecting debts. Her father (my grandfather) ran a family business and was also a drug addict. His father (great-grandfather) was also a businessman.

My grandfather, on his father’s side, was both a businessman and an adventurer. His father ran a successful lawyer’s practice.

Grandmother was a servant and my father born out of wedlock. He rose through the army’s ranks to retire with the rank of major. He was hated in peacetime andloved by his menduring conflicts because he had prepared them so well.

Business blood flows through my veins. Business thrills me. I’ve run businesses for forty years and can say that thegreatest problems are neither capital, nor cash-flow but, rather, family dynamics and stress.

The family business book is written by an award-winning family therapy trainer who has worked with teaching hospitals, founded associations for therapists, and created courses for professionals (such as psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and counsellors).

IS PROBABLY A DREAM that most entertain as the perfect place to live. Few take the opportunity. I lived on the Mediterranean coast 200 yards from the sea for nearly twenty years.

Both photography books were written there. We all loved the sun and the sea.
Ours was an idylic family life that too few have an opportunity to enjoy.

In just a year, we funded the building of a nursery and eco-friendly student cafeteria in our daughters school.

My wife and I started an on-line business from our home. It still supports her today.

It’s important to focus on business. Money mustnt be your motivation. Seeking money simply makes you feel a sense of lack.

Its all about the experience.

Throughout the years in business I’ve probably gone through more challenges than plain sailing. However, the ups more than offset the downs both emotionally and financially.

You will discover your inner qualities of inventiveness, strength and perseverance during these times.

You can only spend so much time in paradise.

The day came when my daughter needed more (and I had become fat). She motivated me to do the research for the book ‘Radical Detox’.

I lost weight (and discovered how to keep it off).

My daughter convinced me, as well, to move to England, since she wanted to attend The Small School, which was established by Satish Kumar (of Resurgence and Ecologist).

Unfortunately, the school closed just one term later. The following four years were spent teaching her to write well in English, pass exams, and learn digital art.

The focus now is on business development since she is more independent.