Another Business Health Check! Succession Planning - Ready for the Unknown?

Is your business ready for the unknown? Although our attention is constantly drawn to immediate business concerns and making preparations for near-term challenges and changes, it’s important to be thinking further down the road too. Be conscious about planning for long-term business continuity, and then make time to document it, even when there aren’t enough hours in the day.

Every business has unique goals and needs, but a good starting place for these conversations is to consider:

• Management Continuity

  • Do you have a plan for how to incentivize key employees to stay with the company?

  • Is there a documented structure for how to ensure smooth management of the business if a key employee or owner suddenly leaves or becomes disabled?

  • Is institutional knowledge shared among many key players and put in writing, or does the business rely heavily on the know-how of one or two specific employees?

• Ownership Continuity

  • What will happen to the business when the current owners retire or decide to leave the company?

  • Are there other owners active in the business that will step in?

  • Do other key employees need to be elevated to more decision-making authority so they are prepared to take over the business in the long run?

• Sale of Business

  • Are you looking at a sale of the business to a new owner or larger corporation to transition out of ownership?

As you start to develop your plans, bring in the advisors that you need—accountants, financial advisors, lawyers too! Making a plan today makes for a smooth and successful transition in the future.