February 23, 2016

Too many business owners across the country fall for the myth that there is plenty of time left for them to do their planning. Time is either your enemy or your ally in terms of business succession planning. You can spend a lot of time planning for succession during your active business life or you can postpone it and wait till the more uncertain and chaotic and expensive succession planning happens after you have passed away. If you go for this latter option the choices are no longer yours.

Refusing to accept the realities of time can have major consequences for your business especially since timing issues in a company are frequently beyond the control of the owner. Just as CEOs getting older are pressed for information by shareholders who want to see a succession plan to protect their investments, a small business owner should also consider a succession plan to protect the interests of all relevant stakeholders.

The key lesson in this particular situation is that it’s in your bets interest to start early. Select a possible successor for key areas in your business to avoid some of the most common challenges associated with business succession planning.