April 19th 2013

Proposal

SESO GROUP:

Suhaila Asbah

Steven Drakou

Alex Golovin

Elin Bjornback

Table of Contents

METHODOLOGY............................................................................................................................................... 1

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................... 2

REASONING BEHIND AND PURPOSE.........................................................................................................3

OBJECTIVES....................................................................................................................................................... 4

PARTNERS......................................................................................................................................................... 5

MANAGEMENT (COMMITTEE).................................................................................................................... 6

MEMBERSHIP................................................................................................................................................... 7

STRUCTURE...................................................................................................................................................... 7

ACTIVITIES........................................................................................................................................................ 8

FUNDING OF THE CLUB................................................................................................................................. 9

MEMBER OF THE SEMESTER AWARD....................................................................................................11

BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................................................. 12

APPENDICES................................................................................................................................................... 14

APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONS.................................................................................................................................14

Methodology

For this proposal, both primary and secondary sources were used. Non-probability

sampling was used as the research focused solely on stakeholders of family business, in

particular Regent college students. Qualitative approach involved surveys composed of

10 questions (see Appendix 1). with the purpose of finding out if an interest of creating a

family business club existed and what content was required. In addition, to create a

positioning for the club, a competitive analysis was made. The survey and competitive

analysis were combined with sources from the Internet.

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Introduction

Regent’s University London has over 4000 students of 100 different nationalities

(Regent’s University London, 2013), with many of them being part of successful family

businesses. Currently, there exist several societies on campus, for example law society,

racing society and cultural society but yet no club, association or society has been

founded that focus primarily on family businesses. Therefore, this report aims to

propose the creation of a Regent’s Family Business Club, by explaining its purpose and

content. The most important inputs from the survey is presented throughout the report.

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Reasoning Behind and Purpose

According to the PWC family business survey (2012) it shows that family firms are

robust, vigorous and successful – they are ambitious, entrepreneurial and delivering

solid profits even in the continued uncertain economic environment. Family businesses

are making a substantial but undervalued contribution to stability and growth and it is

believed that governments could do more to offer the sort of targeted support that

would make a significant difference for them. For instance there is special body in

Australia, which helps family business (which is valued 4,3 trillion dollars) in the region

and raises attention to it from government and public (O’Neil, 2013). It is here the

Regent’s Family Business Club aims to come in and support those businesses through

preparing the next leading generations.

Amongst the 20 students participating in the survey, that were either part of a family

business or interested in learning more about family businesses, 15 said that they would

be interested in being part of a family business club. The reasons for joining were mainly

to create valuable connections (networking), spot job opportunities and to share

knowledge and experiences (learn more about other family businesses) while some of

the participants would seek to both give and receive support (how to deal with issues

such as succession, family feuds etc.).

The reasons why five students would not want to take part of a club were because they

did not believe that they would have enough time to be fully engaged in the activities

held, had low overall interest in being part of a club or that they was not planning to

work in their family businesses.

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Reasons for joining the club

Reason

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Therefore, Regent’s Family Business Club will aim to connect students that come from or

are interested in family businesses in various industries, from retail and finance to

shipping and hospitality, in order to build a rich network. The members will gain

experience and create valuable global connections while the club will provide the

students will balanced practical and academic knowledge for them to use in their

present or future family business life.

Objectives

The main objectives of Regent’s Family Business Club will be to:

Unite students interested in or part of family businesses to share knowledge,

experiences and ideas.

Create a platform for students within family businesses to give and receive

support.

Spot job opportunities through connecting different family businesses with

international scope.

Build valuable networks between students, family businesses and other

universities.

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Strengthen the Regent’s College brand in the international family business

society.

Establish strong relationships with domestic and foreign university based family

business clubs as part of the expansion of Regent’s University London.

Partners

One of the objectives of Regent’s Family Business Club will be to build strong

relationships with other university based clubs like Wharton family business club from

the US, ICG from Egypt and GSB from Stanford, with the purpose of creating an

association such as the International Family Business Network on a student level, which

is not shown to exist in the present. Therefore, instead of doing a competitive analysis,

here will follow a presentation of suggested partners and how they could help to expand

both the Regent’s Family Business Club and Regent’s University London brand globally.

The existing family business club at neighboring London Business School has, according

to the website (London Business School, 2013), over 400 members. This gives them a

great advantage, for already having an established themselves on the international

arena, a network that Regent’s Family Business Club could explore. Their unique selling

points are mainly that the club is part of one of the world’s leading business schools

(Financial Times a, 2013) and that it aims to “build knowledge, expand networks and

growing the LBS brand in the global family business community” (London Business

School, 2013).

Wharton Family Business Club is well established on the American market. The

unique selling point of Wharton is, in addition of having a large network of family

businesses and participating in global conferences, that the club aims to establish family

business as a field of study in Wharton University, which could improve the knowledge

and be an inspiration for Regent’s Family Business Club to try and achieve at the

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university. They also run Global Family Alliance events (Wharton Graduate Association,

2013).

The family business club at Columbia Business School in New York was started in

2010 with the aim of creating a worldwide network to ease business transactions. One

unique selling point is that the school is based in central New York, located just blocks

from the established New York Family Business Center, which with their base of

specialist advisors (NY FBC, 2013) could create great opportunities for finding

interesting guest speakers and create other shared events. The club has also created a

Family Business Management Program composed of current students, alumni and

external family businesses in New York with the purpose of increasing awareness of

family business challenges and issues (Columbia Business School, 2013).

A fourth, non-university partner is suggested to be the UK based advisory firm Albert

Goodman. The firm launched their family business club in 2011, which has become a

huge success (Albert Goodman, 2013). Regent’s Family Business Club should become

part of this club to take advantage of their specialist guidance and assistance relating to

both how to run the business and more financial issues. Joining the Albert Goodman

club would provide the members of Regent’s Family Business Club with a large, valuable

network that also their families can take advantage of.

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Management (Committee)

Regent’s Family Business Club will be managed of a committee that is in charged of

structuring the meetings, accepting memberships, scheduling events and ensuring that

all members are content with the club. The committee will be elected annually as some

students could are graduated. There will not be a President; instead three people will

take the roles as coordinators, to avoid hierarchy power structure. At the beginning,

these people will be the founders of the Club and whilst the membership expands

(hopefully) and the founders graduate, members can request interest of being part of

the committee, a decision that is taken from the current coordinators in terms of

capability, interest, ideas etc.

Membership

The membership of Regent’s Family Business Club will be limited to students of Regent’s

University London. The initial idea was to limit the club to business students but since

family businesses can be of any shape or form, it has been decided that students from all

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of the seven schools incorporated under the brand are welcome to join, whether it be a

finance or fashion and design student. It is not required that members are part of a

family business but in order to create a meaningful purpose of the club, the members do

need to have an interest of learning more about the dynamics of family run businesses. If

not already part of one, maybe they seek to gain knowledge and experience to one day

start their own?

It was previously said that when graduating, members would automatically become

alumni of the club and get the chance to be involved by, for example participating in

events or be a guest speaker. To be part of alumni is something that the students would

consider. Taking this into account, to not require people to be alumni of separate clubs, a

good idea would be to connect the Regent’s Family Business Club alumni with the main

one of the whole college, to extend the network even further.

As explained under the section “Funding of the Club” further below, the suggested initial

membership fee of £100 have been changed to a free membership with charged events

of fees around £10.

Structure

The initial idea was to have a monthly meeting with all members where they would take

part in debates on pre chosen topics, tackle cases of the diverse challenges of family

businesses and to share each other experiences. When conducting the survey it was

concluded that most of the students asked, 75%, would be willing to participate in

monthly meetings and attend one or two events during the semester.

Therefore, it has been determined that Regent’s Family Business Club will begin with

having:

Monthly meetings

Holding one or two events during the semester

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Activities

When answering the question regarding the content of the club, which activities they

would want the club to organize, the majority of the participants said that they would

like to attend sessions with different guest speakers. While most suggested that the

guest speakers would be entrepreneurs that came and shared their experiences of

creating and running a family business some also came with the good idea of inviting

consultants. These consultants could give presentations of how to improve your family

business, to talk more about the strategy of running a family business from an outside

perspective and to provide guidelines of how to deal with issues relating to, for example,

succession, family-business-ownership dynamics and to go public or stay private.

Networking events was also requested where the members could not only meet other

family business clubs in the UK but also invite their families to create more valuable

connections between the students on a more business level. One student also came with

the suggestion of not only creating own networking events but to join business related

networking gatherings as a group, to strengthen contacts with not only other student

related business clubs but also on a more professional level. The reason for wanting

these networking events was shown to be more easily find job opportunities. Other

suggestions of activities included workshops with different themes, wine and dine

events and social gatherings with other family business clubs or business clubs.

Networking events

Guest Speakers Wine & Dine events

Workshops Gatherings with other family business /

business clubs

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Activities wanted

Kind of activity

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Based on the survey results combined with the reasons why the students would want to

join the club, Regent’s Family Business Club will hold the following activities:

Networking events with other family business / business clubs.

Guest speaker evenings. Example of guest speakers could be parents to members,

entrepreneurs and consultants.

Workshops with different themes, for example how to best support one and

other.

Wine and Dine events to create positive dynamics in the group even outside

campus.

Funding of the Club

The initial suggestion was to have a joining membership fee of £100 to cover materials

such as notepads, pens etc. for meetings. In addition, it was suggested that the members

would pay for other activities that take place in public places such as for booking fees for

wine and dine events. Considering the results of the survey, the participant would be

ready to pay a small membership fee around £20 - £25 per semester. However, they

would only be willing to pay a fee if the club could guarantee events per semester, such

as networking events, workshops and inviting guest speakers.

Therefore, it is suggested that instead of having a membership fee that Regent’s Family

Business Club would be free to join and that members instead are charged for the

different events held. The purpose of this decision is to first create a solid membership

base and second to not to give false promises, if the committee would not be able to hold

a certain number of events per semester. However, a membership fee might be

reconsidered in the longer term. The fee for the events would vary but be at a low level

in order to not exclude any, around £10, depending on what resources are required, for

example purchasing food and drinks for workshop events.

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£10 £15 £20 £25 £30 £40 £500

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Fee willing to pay / semester

Fee / Semester

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Professional services firms such as PWC and Ernest & Young, law firms and banks seems

to be very interested in getting in touch with family firms, as they can be seen as being

sponsors to family business networks all over the world (FBN International, 2013; FBN

Sweden, 2013). To ask them to be sponsor to the Regent’s Family Business Club would

be a good idea since the Club could provide them with not only a large base of business

students (for their graduate programs etc.) but also valuable connections to both small

and large family businesses that could become profitable clients in the future. Also,

Ernest & Young has a “Junior Academy”, which is especially created for successors of

family businesses (Ernest & Young, 2013), which could be of great value for the

members of the club to gain support and more extensive knowledge.

In the case of finding sponsors would be difficult, to ask Regent’s College to be part of

funding the club would be an option.

To conclude, the Regent’s Family Business Club be funded by:

Fees for events held, between £10 - £20 per event/workshops/guest speaker

Sponsors in form of family businesses of the members and professional services

firms, law firms or banks.

(Regent’s College)

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Member of the Semester Award

To encourage the students to participate in meetings and other activities held

throughout the semester, the committee of Regent’s Family Business Club will each

semester elect one member to be the winner of the “Member of the Semester Award”.

The award is based on the level of performance and overall contribution to the club in

terms of generating ideas, participating in events held and supporting fellow members.

In addition of being an honor to receive the Award, as an extra incentive there will be a

prize. However, what the prize will be is to be determined by the committee and might

vary from semester to semester.

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Bibliography

Albert Goodman. (2013). Albert Goodman Family Business Club.Available URL: http://www.albertgoodman.co.uk/index.php/articles-events/ag-news/178-albert-goodman-family-business-club-launch-is-great-success-7-july-2011?ft=1Accessed: 17 April 2013

Columbia Business School. (2013). The Columbia Family Business Management Program.Available URL: http://www8.gsb.columbia.edu/entrepreneurship/affiliates/getinvolved/familyAccessed: 17 April 2013

Ernest & Young. (2013). Ernest & Young Junior Academy Program 2013.Available URL: http://www.ey-junioracademy.comAccessed: 16 April 2013

FBN International. (2013). Alliances and Preferred Sponsors. Available URL: http://www.fbn-i.org/fbn/web.nsf/doclu/sponsorsAccessed: 16 April 2013

FBN Sweden. (2013). Våra Vänner. Available URL: http://www.fbn-sweden.seAccessed: 16 April 2013

Financial Times a. (2013). Global MBA Ranking 2013.Available URL: http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/london-business-schoolAccessed: 16 April 2013

Financial Times b. (2010). The family business club at Columbia. Available URL: http://blogs.ft.com/mba-blog/2010/07/06/the-family-business-club-at-columbia/Accessed: 17 April 2013

London Business School. (2013). Family Business Club.Available URL: http://clubs.london.edu/family/about/Accessed: 16 April 2013

NY FBC. (2013). About us.Available URL: http://www.nyfbc.com/about-us/Accessed: 17 April 2013

O’Neil, 2013. Why Family Business Has Government Attention. Retrieved on 19th of April, 2013, from: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2013/4/18/family-business/why-family-business-has-governments-attention

PWC. (2012). Family Business Survey 2012.Available URL: http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/pwc-family-business-survey/index.jhtmlAccessed: 15 April 2013

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Regent’s London University. (2013). About Regent’s University London.Available URL: http://www.regents.ac.uk/home/about_regents_university.aspxAccessed: 15 April 2013

Wharton Graduate Association (2013). Family Business Club.Available URL: http://www.wgaworld.org/clubs-subpage.html?catid=12&_category=professional-clubs&id=128Accessed: 17 April 2013

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Appendices

Appendix 1: Survey Questions

1. Would you be interested in joining a family business club on campus?

2. If yes, what would be your reasons for joining this club?

3. What purpose do you see this club to have?

4. How much time would you be willing/able to spend in this club (in terms of number of meetings, events, workshops)?

5. What would be the reason for you to be willing to pay a membership fee?

6. If a membership fee were required, what would be the maximum limit you would accept? Would you want the fee to be annual or charged per semester?

7. What are your suggestions in making this family club more business related than just becoming another student society?

8. In terms of content, which activities would you like the club to organize?

9. Do you believe your family (family business) would be interested in having regular contact with the club (in terms of being guest speakers, sponsors, creating job opportunities)?

10. After graduating, would you be interested in being part of alumni of the club?

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