How Do You Deal With False Starts During A Business?

In This Episode

Most business owners don’t start a company with a plan to exit the business and transition it to the next generation. Fortunately many owners do spend some time working on a plan to transition the ownership to the next generation as they begin to think about winding things down. But there can be many false starts along the way that are common challenges but can be avoided or minimized.

One big mistake we see is where the current owner takes the “osmosis” approach of telling the next generation to just follow them around for the next 6 months and do what they do. Another is the the individual parties are too focused on themselves vs. the other involved parties and the business itself. Nothing will stall discussions and plans faster than folks focusing too much on themselves when it comes to a transition. Yet another common false start is when it becomes apparent that the next generation isn’t quite ready to take over yet. How do you get them up to speed so that you as the exiting owner feel comfortable stepping back and eventually stepping away?

It is a good idea to get input from folks who are outside your business. If nothing else those folks tend to be more objective and less emotional than those in the business. A big stumbling block can be talking with too many outsiders because they will often give different opinions and advice which can often be conflicting. Plus more information isn’t always better. Another common stumbling block is engaging the wrong outside advisors who are more skilled with the nuts and bolts of structuring a transaction vs. the transition of day-to-day management fo the company.

One of the things we do in our coaching business is to facilitate lots of discussions between the interested parties which include a lot of “what if” scenarios to help the parties talk through the good, the bad, and the ugly. Plus we do it in plain English vs. some other professionals who will be speaking their own language! Don’t let the false starts stop your business transition. Focus on getting the plans together that are based on MVP’s 7 Keys to Success (http://maximumvp.com/7-keys-to-success/). Get some inspiration and ideas from our show today!