Hi everyone,

Just looking for some advice regarding my about to be launched business, particularly if you already run a business alongside family members.

Background: I am the director and my wife and I are equal shareholders (1 share each)- we have both taken part in the technical side of setting up the business and will also share the running of the business. We are now at the stage of starting marketing and sales which is my brother in law's field and I feel he would be a great asset to the project (and he is also keen to be involved).

I want him to be fully recompensed for his contribution, but would prefer to avoid becoming an employer, so my thought was to make him a shareholder so that he will benefit from any success of the business.

Are there any potential pitfalls with this approach? And what would be a fair shareholding? I'd be happy with a 3 way split but would this risk losing control of the business further down the line if there were unexpected problems?

Thanks in advance for your help