Research shows that 30 percent of family businesses make it to their second generation and only 12 percent make it to their third. Daunting statistics like these make you wonder what the 12 percent have that the others don’t. Why does one family close up shop while another keeps chugging forward?

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http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250416

Here is a Q&A example from the great Feargal Quinn on how to overcome conflict in Family Business: 

Question:   

My brother and I are involved in business together. My role is less active than his, however, we have had ongoing disputes about the direction the business should be taken and we are now barely talking. Have you any ideas on how we might resolve the situation?

Answer:    

Animosity among family members within a business can sometimes be disastrous as it tends to spread into the family and suddenly instead of two business people making decisions and debating a matter, the whole extended family end up taking sides and volunteering opinions.

My first piece of advice would be that if this is to be resolved, you both need to agree that whatever happens within the business, stays within the business and is not communicated within the wider family, otherwise you risk the splitting of the family down the middle with potential lifetime conflict.

Once you have achieved this you now need to focus on the business issue. Treat it as if you are not brother and sister, but rather two investors in the same business.

Your conflict seems to arise over decisions which are taken and direction the business is moving in.

It might be a good idea to get a third party adviser/mentor to come in and review the business without giving them any particular background and see what their recommendations are. This might help both sides to take a more neutral approach. It would also be a good idea if you both sit down and write down the areas of disagreement and then logically talk through each one and get agreement on how to proceed forward.

Running a business with a sibling is all about respect and using commercial logic to create a sustainable future. If the respect is lost, then you have no choice for one of you to buy the other out of the business.

Source:

http://www.independent.ie/business/small-business/advice-centre/problem-solver-oh-brother-we-have-sibling-issues-in-our-business-31514713.html

The European Union plans to make it easier for small firms to list on the stock exchange, under new measures that will be released on Wednesday as part of its Capital Markets Union (CMU) programme, the Irish Independent has learned.

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http://www.independent.ie/business/small-business/latest-news/eu-to-ease-ipo-rules-for-smes-under-plan-31563228.html

According to the European Family Business / KPMG Tax Monitor, a survey of 23 European countries that looks into the impact tax can have on the transfer

of a business to family members upon inheritance and retirements, family businesses in Ireland need to take note of and prepare for the heavy tax

implications associated with the transfer of business ownership through inheritance or retirement.

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http://www.kpmg.com/ie/en/issuesandinsights/articlespublications/pressreleases/pages/family-business-transfers.aspx

A new €500,000 Enterpise Ireland Competitive Start Fund designed to stimulate start-up activity in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors has been announced.

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 http://www.irishtimes.com/business/agribusiness-and-food/500-000-start-up-fund-targets-agribusiness-sector-1.2353656

It may be a matter of semantics, but discussions about entrepreneurship often boil down to the difference between patience and persistence.

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http://mashable.com/2015/06/23/entrepreneurship-persistence/#wKq5WgfuyikV

Many startup founders and small business owners suffer from the illusion that no one else can take care of things like they can. After all, we’ve been with the business from the start, have seen the ups and downs and know every facet of the business.

As a result, we try to keep a hand in everything, jumping in frequently to save the day. In a word, we micromanage.

So, how do you break this micromanaging behavior?

Click here for more information: 

http://mashable.com/2015/08/25/micromanaging-employees/#tyGiIm1kxmkP

JONATHAN MARRY IS not your typical pig farmer.

At 27, the Louth native is younger than most others in the industry, having run his family’s Drogheda farm since 2009.

Click here to read the full article : 

http://www.thejournal.ie/young-farmer-of-the-year-jonathan-marry-2308022-Sep2015/

Here is a very interesting read on how a family business stayed afloat with one decision by Olan McNeece, founder of Dan Kelly's Craft Cider. 

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http://www.independent.ie/business/small-business/your-stories/the-hardest-thing-in-business-selling-dad-on-my-cider-startup-31447126.html

When a second generation takes over a family business, employee engagement can be a challenge. Many employees will have been hired, and are loyal to, the first generation. So how can you weld the employees to the second generation? 

Click here to read the full article: 

http://dvfbc.com/esops-and-family-business-can-be-a-great-mix/