Business Succession Planning – A financial perspective

by | September 21, 2011

Our guest blog post this week comes from Admand Wong of Integrity Financial Corporation.  Admand will be a presenter at our upcoming Succession Planning Workshop on Sept. 28.

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Are you working in your business or are you working on your business? I can assure you this is not an article about grammar or vocabulary lessons. Often business owners get the idea mixed as to whether they are working for their business or if their business is working for them. However, it may have all began once upon a time with the popular notion of becoming-their-own-boss, but this belief could literally mean being enslaved to their very own creation, their business a.k.a. the ultimate boss. Business owners often are uncertain about when, how, and if they can eventually leave this boss like the one they fired last.

Nonetheless with all things being unequal many did make it worthwhile and it paid off though with much sacrifices. The real question remains when, how, and if they can ever get out? What will happen to their family, the business and its clients?

Having a good succession plan is crucial for every business owner if they hope to exit the business one day especially when they are to reap financial rewards for all their years of hard work. As Stephen Covey says in his book ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, always “Begin with the end in mind”. A detailed Succession Plan affects all areas of a business and it’s owner’s life. Such as family, ownership, operations and management. While it serves to protect ownership and wealth of the business, it also involves the financial plan of the individual owner.

Having a plan in place helps move business along. It becomes a great foundation for determining what else needs to be done, and what finances are required. It also provides a clear working modal for the what-if situations, if the owner prematurely exits from the business due to unforeseen death or disability. Continued business success is usually not the result of accident, but careful planning.