People leave businesses all the time. Either to start another business, to cash out, to let a family member or someone else take the reins, to retire – the reasons are many. But an exit plan requires preparation, preparation that many business owners ignore.
As you plan your succession, you need to answer three questions:
- What is the vision for the future of your business in your absence?
- Who can best carry out that vision?
- What plan will you carry out to see that your vision is carried out?
It is amazing to me how many people we talk to simply shut their doors and walk away. All that hard work building their business just to leave it behind and walk away makes no sense to me, and all because they did not plan ahead.