Training your Business Successor is crucial in ensuring a smooth transition of ownership and leadership. The following are critical elements to consider when preparing your Business Successor…

An often adopted exit strategy for a founder of a small business is to sell to a group of employees who have expressed a desire to be the future owners. Factors to be considered in assessing the viability of this strategy for the selling owner(s) include their personal financial goals, risk tolerance regarding payment of sale proceeds, and the buyers' capabilities to be successful business owners. Another risk factor most often neglected is whether the employees, who may be working well together, will succeed as business partners.

Transitioning from founder mode to management team mode presents several challenges for small business owners as they plan for their eventual exit. Different leadership styles and approaches will be required as the business grows and moves from the start-up phase to a more mature stage. Here are some key challenges associated with this transition…

Small businesses stay small either by choice, or because they start chasing growth in the wrong places.

When you strip away the layers, it all comes down to darts.

Imagine a dart board with a bull’s eye and around it is a series of wider and wider circles. The bull’s eye is where the people just like you hang out. They are the people (or businesses) who feel the problem your company set out to solve. They are usually your first customers and raving fans.

The further you go outside of your bull’s eye, the less these prospects feel your exact pain.

All business owners will need to answer these three questions at some point:

1. What is my desired date of departure or exit?

2. How much $$$$ will I need for my goals and for life after the business?

3. To whom will I sell my business?

For many business owners, the preferred answer to the third question is a sale or transfer to my child, or children, that are active in the business. In such cases, the owner would have legacy or values-based goals that would be realized with a transfer of the business to their children.

One of the questions we often hear from business owners is, “What is the difference between Succession Planning and Exit Planning?  Aren’t they the same thing?”  Surprisingly, they are not.  The next question usually is, “Which one do I need?” The answer is simple.  Whether the business is small or large, family-owned or not, astute business owners always need both.

Key employees are the driving force behind a company's success, and recognizing and nurturing their talents is essential for sustained growth and value acceleration. In this blog post, we will explore the importance of key employees, the characteristics that define them, and how you can identify them within your organization.

“The emotional aspect of an exit and transition is what’s hardest (paraphrased)”. This was a statement made by one client to another at a recent charity golf event. While listening to the conversation I was freshly reminded about what’s at stake when and how an owner leaves their business, that perhaps took them decades to build.

A business book that I read the book when it was first published, and find helpful to revisit regularly, is Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. The authors’ definition of “execution” is particularly insightful and helpful when considering how an owner should build a business that is transferable, and in planning their eventual exit from the business

“Fundamentally, execution is the discipline of systematically exposing reality and acting on it.”

A key element for an exiting successfully on your own terms and conditions is realizing the role(s) that you’re willing to play post-sale or transfer.

John sold to a strategic buyer and an earn-out with John working as an employee for 3 years as part of the deal. He had not planned in a way to avoid this, and after 2 years decided to forfeit the balance of his payout and leave because he was finding it too difficult to work for the new management.

Up until a successor takes over as an owner, they have typically only ever been an employee.  Therefore, it is critical to help them begin adopting an Owner’s Mindset prior to handing over the keys.

Owners and employees generally think differently.  I remember when I first became the owner of a company.  I co-owned a restaurant development company, where developed our own restaurant chain and also developed a territory for a national franchise.

If you’re a business owner with a desire and vision for selling to key employees who have helped you build the business, the following is a short list of important issues to seriously consider prior to moving forward. And, the sooner you begin the greater chance of a successful transition.

The most important business planning document that multiple owners of a business can have is a buy-sell agreement.  A buy-sell agreement provides direction to owners and other stakeholders when certain events trigger the transition of an ownership interest in a business. 

These agreements can be very effective in minimizing uncertainty and indecision during challenging and emotional times.  However, it’s not enough to simply have a buy-sell agreement, it needs to be written skillfully to accomplish the desires and goals of the owner(s).

Often business owners are exhorted to build their business with "the end", or their eventual exit in mind.  This can be a good idea in that it lends toward building your business to have "transferable value", or value that someone else will want to buy and own when you're ready to leave.  Value apart from you the owner.

This post originally appeared in Kentlands Psychotherapy’s blog, written, by TODAY’ S GUEST BLOGGER Dr. Elizabeth Carr, for their monthly advice column The Laudable Life which appears in print in the Lakelands Leader.

You may have people working in key roles who are instrumental in growing and building the value of your business. These key people can be identified as having the following characteristics:

• makes a substantial business contribution

• possesses critical information or knowledge or

• maintains and nourishes key contacts and relationships

Deciding on an exit route of a sale to insiders or children can be more complicated and less expedient than a sale to a third party. There are not a few key planning issues when considering this exit option SUCH AS:

• Will the owner’s financial goals be achieved?

• Is the business cash flow strong enough to support a transaction?

• How can the transaction be structured to minimize taxes?

Probate is the legal process through which property is transferred after a property owner’s death. Generally, the probate process requires the gathering of all assets, paying off debts, and distributing the remaining assets in accordance with the deceased person’s estate plan and the law. The probate process is facilitated by a court-approved, or appointed, a person known as the administrator, executor, or personal representative of the estate.

Key employees are “key” because they have a significant impact on the current and long-term success of the business. Hence, the business owner(s) will want to be intentional and strategic in aligning compensation and incentive plans for those key employees with the owner’s goals for business growth and exit. Owners should also protect against the potential loss of these valued employees due to death or disability, as their loss can be quite damaging and even destructive to business value and future growth. Following are suggested steps to take in assigning value to your key employees.