Most Business Owners are use to BUSINESS PLANNING and it has been a part of their regular activity.
Most have not been as diligent with OWNERSHIP PLANNING.
If not, it is time to reflect -- It is also time to act.
You will eventually leave your business. You have three options:
- Do NO planning -- just wait and see what happens.
- Transfer ownership to family or key persons for them to continue.
- Sell to a third party.
Number 1 should not be the option you choose. Sometimes that becomes the option because you haven’t confirmed whether option 2 or 3 is the best fit for you.
Actually you must plan effectively for both 2 and 3. Ultimately you will know – if you have planned for each eventuality.
Each owner is different – different in age, family and outside interests. The objective should be to carefully plan so that all possible differences are coordinated into a single Business Plan.
Perhaps the single most important factor centers around the VALUE of THE BUSINESS ENTERPRISE. Value is necessary to fairly coordinate your varied differences – and Value is not the same as Price.
The best Planning Tool we have come across is a book titled: “How To Run Your Business So You Can Leave It In Style.”
We are living in a complex world and no single individual has all the tools and experience to do the job alone. Ultimately you need to develop a Planning Team as suggested in the book mentioned above.
Let’s start with a review and from that set a schedule. Who is responsible to do what? When is it due? And what will it cost to complete?
