Sam really liked working for his Dad, Richard. Richard owned alawn and garden service business, Lawn Tech. The business has agood reputation and demand for the company services has risensteadily over the last decade.
Sam wanted to expand his business beyond chemical andsynthetic lawn into organic and green products and services. Samknew that his Dad would not be encouraging of this change becauseLawn Tech’s reputation and client base were not asking or demandingorganic lawn care. However, Sam’s vision for Lawn Tech differedfrom his Dad. The more he studied about organic lawn service andgarden products, the more convinced he was that Lawn Tech’s futuresuccess would come from finding a balance between chemical andorganic approaches. Expanding the business would require three newemployees for marketing and sales, new training regimens, newmanuals, and new marketing.
At heart, Sam wanted to run his own business. His Dad promisedhim ownership in Lawn Tech, but that discussion did not go anyfurther.
Sam considered a few choices:
Leave Lawn Tech and work for another lawn servicebusiness
Leave Lawn Tech and start a new business, in competition withLawn Tech
Stay with Lawn Tech, but demand ownership and executivedecision making
Continue on the current course.
How should Sam decide on the alternatives? What data would heneed to make a rational decision? What kind of spreadsheet shouldhe create to compare the choices?
