What are the steps to create a succession plan for a small business?
Table of Contents
The five stages we use in our process are important milestones – all focused-on VALUE:
Identify Value – Assess your business’s current status by determining its actual value, sale feasibility, and identifying critical risk factors.
Protect Value – Protect your business assets and minimise risks by establishing contingency plans for unforeseeable events such as serious illnesses or accidents.
Maximize Value – Ensure that your business does not rely on you, and lock-in, retain and motivate your team. Establish a corporate governance structure that guides decision-making and strategy and set up a sales and marketing plan to generate leads and maximise your business’s financial model.
Extract Value – Determine the best way to sell your business by conducting buyer research instead of relying on broker-style advertising. Select a strategic buyer that will maximise the business’s value, manage the transaction, due diligence process, legal contracts, warranties and securities, as the terms of sale are as significant as the price.
Manage Value – After selling the business, hold assets in the correct entities for asset protection, tax minimisation, and long-term wealth management. Review your estate plan and ensure that the right people manage your affairs going forward. By following this comprehensive approach, you will achieve a successful exit strategy with maximum value, asset protection, and the best possible opportunity for your business to succeed after you exit.
With our methodology, business owners can be assured of a tailor-made solution that will result in the best possible outcome, enabling them to accomplish a successful exit while maximizing their business’s value.
Are you ready to implement the 21-step process for your small business?
We invite you to click here and get in touch with us today to schedule a free 30-minute call to discuss your exit options.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tim Fawcett CEPA, CAP, CMEA
EastWind Business Solutions Inc.
www.eastwindinc.ca
https://calendly.com/tim-fawcett/30min
Tim Fawcett, the founder and managing director of EastWind Business Solutions, Inc., a merger and acquisition advisory firm that specializes in strategic sales of SMEs with revenue between $2M-$100M+, has provided strategies to over 2000 baby boomer business owners in Canada and the USA, helping them accelerate value and prepare their businesses for sale and guiding them through best practices in exit planning.
