What’s the Next Step – Succession Planning

Business owners open their businesses for different reasons. For me, it was a mix of wanting to share my experience, work with different businesses and flexibility. For others it’s the loads of money they will make.

Whatever your motivator, at some stage you will want your business to run itself. That should be a goal for all business owners - to be able to go on that holiday or long weekend, secure in the fact the business will be okay without you.

How many business owners start their business thinking about when they won’t be there? You could still own it and have a manager. Or you sell the business to an Employee or external buyer. Or, in the case of a truly family-owned business, you transition the business to the next generation. Whichever is your situation, there are a number of things to consider.

If you want to sell your business, obviously, it has to be attractive for someone to want to buy. The buyer will be looking for a number of things including value for money. For you, the business owner, you would normally want to make a nice profit. Some business owners selling their business will focus on making sure the financial figures look inviting. It most definitely is important. However, it is also important to ensure you have high performing individuals in high performing teams as that will also add to the value of your business.

If, on the other hand you are transitioning to the next generation of your family taking over the business there are different considerations. Who will do what, how will this affect other members of the business, how long will it take, what steps need to be taken, what needs to be communicated when and to who? Importantly, what will my family need to ensure they continue to lead a successful business?

Whatever your situation, succession planning is important at every stage of your business journey. To ensure success there must be substantial planning and preparation.

What steps are you taking to ensure your business is valuable and successful?