The importance of entrepreneurship in tobacco production as a family business

Family business is quite common form of doing business in Macedonia and the Balkans. There are two ways of operating: by starting family business or by inheritance. In both cases there is equal amount of advantages and disadvantages which have a beneficial or detrimental effect on business. On the side of advantages are: being your  own boss, flexible working hours, long-term job security for members of the family, possibility to increase family wealth, work with people you know and trust, possibility to engage in various aspects of the business and  to acquire a variety of skills.  There are also some disadvantages, e.g.  disputes can disrupt business or family values, there is no strict line between business life and private life, family conflicts may have reflection on business and vice versa,  financial risk is higher than usual, higher stress at work and in private life, less "private" time and more obligations, etc. Modern tobacco economy requires good management of all activities and proper motivation of the engaged members. It will help to achieve higher effectiveness in work, lower production costs, increased productivity and better supply of necessary resources. Tobacco has a special place in agricultural industry. About 10% ( over 200,000) of the population of R. Macedonia is engaged in production of this crop and  4,500 people are employed in tobacco industry.  Investigations show that tobacco production organized in small farms or other types of organization needs management and organizational skills, with special emphasis on motivation of the involved members in order to improve and increase the quality of the overall production process. Beside that, reliable family business requires  awell developed entrepreneurial skills of the owner-farmer.