Many individuals who run family businesses assume that the generations that come behind them will want to follow in their footsteps and take over their business once they’re gone. This isn’t always the case, so you may have to eventually look beyond family.
Either way, you’re going to need a business succession plan if you want your business to continue past your tenure as the boss.
Why do you need to have a business succession plan in place?
Business succession planning helps ensure that your company will continue long after you are gone. That’s a major concern for your employees, your partners and your family.
Having a succession plan in place can also build a customer, vendor, partner or investor’s confidence in your business, as it sends a message to them that you plan to remain in business for the long haul.
What are the steps in the business succession planning process?
The first step of a business succession planning process is to identify potential future leaders of your company. You should schedule a conversation with your shortlist of candidates to inquire about their interest in the job.
If you find that no one currently working for your company is leadership-worthy, then you might want to start trying to identify and interview outside individuals to see if they might be ideal to carry your business forward. It may take time to find the right fit from outside your company and train them to eventually take charge of your operations.
Crafting a business succession plan for your company
There’s likely to come a time when you want to pull back from your business and have someone with new, fresh insight run it. Life isn’t predictable. You need to have a plan for what would happen if that occurred. A business succession plan is a solution for each scenario. Have you started yours?
