George Mordaunt, Managing Director of the Mordaunt Group, gave the ITAA Conference a personal account of the ups and downs of his car sales group and its affects on his life.
His book, ‘Shepherds Pie’ is a ‘here and now’ story in Ireland that captures first hand the reality of the recession for the average self-employed person, its brutal effects on their business, mental health, marriage and family life.
“The huge selling point of Shepherds Pie is that the story comes from a Joe Public,” he said. “I am a non CEO, non economist and so the story comes from the heart of a normal 30-year-old Irish family business.
“In the book I talk about the most private moments in my marriage, the fear of corporate failure, and the public fallout, as well as the off-the-record brutality applied by some Irish banks,” he says. “These are all topics that I feel very strongly about. In Ireland and the UK today many self-employed people have become so utterly gripped by the fear of the recession and what it is doing to their company that they themselves are causing fatal damage. Research shows that seven out of 10 self-employed people do not understand what they need to do in order to keep themselves afloat in the downturn.”
Topics addressed in Shepherds Pie include:
- Shepherds Pie – family business, recession and recovery: the real story
- The 5 Cs – how they could save your business
- Why you don’t have to emigrate to have a successful business
- Creativity in business – how it will help to save the Irish economy
- Being decisive in business – confronting all of your hostile creditors including banks
- Coping mentally, financially, emotionally and physically with a global depression
- Protecting your family and marriage from the effects of recession in your business
- The invisible politics of being involved in a family business
- Succession
