Raymond Castell
turnaround consultant
Ruthless clarity; moves fast; can be careless with people
The Family Firm
Forty years of customers, six loyal staff, debts she did not know about and a father who cannot let go.
Planned · not started yet
Business & entrepreneurship Family duty Second chances Hard choices Small town Workplace Reflective Warm
The premise
Forty years of customers, six loyal staff, debts she did not know about and a father who cannot let go. Grace must decide what to save, whether she wants it at all, and how to tell people she grew up with that their jobs depend on her answer.
The protagonist
Grace Odhiambo-Leigh — Marketing executive called home to run her father’s print shop after his stroke
The council
Every council member is an original fictional character. None represents, quotes or is endorsed by a real person.
Dr Ulla Brennan
family-business mediator
Patient; hears what families avoid saying
Sunil Varadkar-Moss
industry analyst
Data-led; reads the market before the accounts
How the story moves
From emergency to a decision to sell; Grace’s relationship with her father is the core, and the final handover carries both relief and grief.
What readers take away
- Read accounts to find the profitable core
- Cut costs without destroying value
- Assess industry decline and diversification options
- Value a small business
- Shareholder agreements and succession planning
- Communicate with staff during change
- Negotiate with creditors
- Sell, merge or close a business properly
- Read a balance sheet and spot hidden liabilities
- Use a SWOT for a declining-industry business
- Negotiate time to pay with tax authorities
- Plan a sale process and information memorandum
The books
- 1The stroke Planned
- 2The accounts Planned
- 3The cuts Planned
- 4The offer Planned
- 5Handover Planned
Book titles are working titles and may change before publication. No book is on sale until the complete series is finished, checked and released.