Question

Sam really liked working for his Dad, Richard. Richard owned a lawn and garden service business, Lawn Tech. The business has a good reputation and demand for the company services has risen steadily over the last decade. Sam wanted to expand his business beyond chemical and synthetic lawn into organic and green products and services. Sam knew that his Dad would not be encouraging of this change because Lawn Tech’s reputation and client base were not asking or demanding organic lawn care. However, Sam’s vision for Lawn Tech differed from his Dad. The more he studied about organic lawn service and garden products, the more convinced he was that Lawn Tech’s future success would come from finding a balance between chemical and organic approaches. Expanding the business would require three new employees for marketing and sales, new training regimens, new manuals, and new marketing. At heart, Sam wanted to run his own business. His Dad promised him ownership in Lawn Tech, but that discussion did not go any further. Sam considered a few choices: Leave Lawn Tech and work for another lawn service business Leave Lawn Tech and start a new business, in competition with Lawn Tech Stay with Lawn Tech, but demand ownership and executive decision making Continue on the current course. How should Sam decide on the alternatives? What data would he need to make a rational decision? What kind of spreadsheet should he create to compare the choices?

Answer 1

Sam should decide on the alternatives considering personal as well as professional factors and try to convince his dad by presenting his vision for Lawn tech. Therefore best alternative for him would be Stay with Lawn Tech but demand ownership and executive decision making.

To make a rational decision he must consider following factors such as :

1. Lawn Tech is already well established in market with a number of clients, therefore starting organic lawn service and garden product will be a win win for both Lawn Tech and Sam.

2. Capital required for starting new business will be a long and complex process, instead working with Lawn Tech and launching new services will be beneficial.

To compare his choices, Sam can use Compare File function in the Excel which will compare the data inserted in the spreadsheet to make a rational decision.