The Financial Flipside Podcast Episode 12

Though it can be hard to imagine when you’re landing your first client, applying for a business loan, or opening a second location, there may come a time when you want to or have to stop being a business owner. That said, your business doesn’t have to come to an end because your time as an entrepreneur does (unless you want it to). There are a variety of ways to keep your company going if you step down, all of which require a plan--a succession plan.

 

In this episode, we talk about what it takes to plan for the continued existence of your business: what you’ll need, who to involve, and how long it takes. We also talk about exit strategies, startup narratives, the potential consequences of short-term thinking, and one thing you can do now to prepare for the future of your business, whatever that looks like.

 

As always, we want to hear from you: do you have a succession plan? How do you imagine the future of your business?

 

Mentioned on the show:

• What is succession planning, anyway?
• What are the pillars  or steps of a succession plan?
• The relationship between succession planning and an exit strategy
• Budgeting for a business transition
• What happens if I don’t have a succession plan? Also,some family business survival statistics.
• The E-Myth (book)
• From emyth.com: How to Build a Business That Doesn’t Depend on You: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4
• How business valuation can help with succession planning and with choosing the best way to transfer ownership of your company
• The role of managers in succession planning

 

Bonus links:

 

• Research on succession planning from the Harvard Business Review
• The ins and outs of succession planning templates
• One sample template
• Another sample template, and 5 steps to creating a succession plan
• 5 ways to transfer ownership of your small business, with pros and cons for each
• Because nonprofits need plans, too: A toolkit for nonprofit succession planning from          the Kansas City Federal Reserve
• 3 examples of succession planning done right