Wednesday, August 3, 2011

SEVEN STEPS FOR FAMILY BUSINESS SUCCESS

Imagine this: A business owner wakes up in the morning and heads to the office. When he walks in, he finds that there is no inventory, no employees, and no equipment. As he looks around, he realizes that he forgot to pay the bills, forgot to make orders, didn’t advertise and therefore, had no clients.

Although this is a pretty silly story, it is very similar to what happens when a business owner fails to prepare a succession plan.

Creating a succession plan is not that difficult once you realize how important communication is. The following are the seven steps that we discuss with clients as we talk about family business succession.

1. Communication
2. Business and estate planning
3. Leadership development
4. Trust
5. Personal resilience
6. Retirement investment planning
7. Non-key employees

All seven of these items need to be discussed as part of your succession plan. With good communication and realization of the hurdles that you need to take twice, a business plan can flourish. If you need some assistance with a family succession plan, please contact our office.