Create Your Succession Plan

Succession planning is not an issue that many organisations address in any systematic way. Because many owner-managed businesses are small (with fewer than 10 employees) and because they may be facing other organisational challenges, thinking about who the next executive director might be or what would happen if the director of finance suddenly left is not high on their priority list.

There are many reasons why organisations need to be thinking about succession planning. The most important reason, of course, is that we rely on staff to carry out our missions, provide services and meet our organisation’s goals. We need to think about what would happen to those services or our ability to fulfill our mission if a key staff member left.

Here at businesshelp.gg we meet far too many business owners who have just left it too late. Often they feel that when they employ people they take on a responsibility and that responsibility can or has become a burden.
The owner has built the business by sheer hard work and determination. All that experience forms their common sense. Unfortunately, that sense is only common to them and they don’t get why the successors just don’t get it.
It’s obvious – it’s because only the owner has the experience but they don’t truly understand how they have achieved their success so they can’t pass on the experience and have to wait for the successor to ripen! It may take forever.

How You Can Achieve a Smooth Handover

So, what can you do now, before you are ready to sell or transfer? Take a look at the following questions;

• Does the business run without you being there every minute?
• Do you have the best people as part of the team?
• Do the products or services that the business offers compete in a niche that makes them unique?
• Are your current customers the biggest and best advertisement?
• Most importantly, does the cash flow justify someone buying the business?

If you cannot positively answer the questions above or simply don’t know the answers, then your business is not ready to be sold at top price.
The good news is businesshelp.gg can help.