Part 2: Succession Planning - The Next Big Thing

If you have less than a 10-year time horizon in this business, it is time to ask some questions and make some serious decisions. If it were me, I would be asking questions like:

1. How is my business valued, and how can I maximize that value? 

For many of us, our businesses make up one of the largest portions of our net worth. The value of a business is always directly proportional to how transferable it is to another person. Simply put, if your business is easy to transfer, it is worth more. If that is the case, my focus would be on simplifying my offering, setting up repeatable processes for dealing with clients and incorporating the use of technology. 

2. Who can take over my business? 

When I sold my business, my biggest concern was how my clients would be treated in the future. After all, most of my clients were like friends. I cared about them and their future well-being. That was something I took seriously as finding the right person is difficult. You need someone who is qualified, client-focused, young, wants to be an entrepreneur, and can afford to pay you. People like this are not easy to find. Many people look to their children to take over the business. However, this is not always an easy task. Adult children still need to be qualified, trained, and have the right mindset to become a business owner. 

3. What is my time period in transition? 

Many advisors want to slow down but don’t really want to stop. They like dealing with clients and helping them solve problems. They would like to ease out of the day-to-day things like managing their staff, marketing, etc. and just focus on their clients.  How would you do this in a systematic manner? 

These are important questions and it’s critical to explore all your options.