Sooner or later every business owner must address the question, “How will I successfully sell my business and move on with my life?”
Many of the owners I have talked to seem to be ‘marching in place’ acknowledging that they need to plan for their future but are in denial about the need to plan ahead. They seem to believe that the process is simple and the time to ‘make it happen’ will be short. Actually, that’s not the case for most of them.
Every Business Owner needs to develop a transition strategy with plenty of time to execute it 'on their time table' to withdraw their equity, assure the continued success of their business and, prepare, personally, for the 'next phase' of their life.
The transition strategy must address three key areas of concern:
Financial
Personal
Company
They often have addressed the financial aspect but not the other two.
Here are five key questions for the Business Owner to answer that become the building blocks of each Transition Strategy:
1) How will I harvest my investment?
2) Who will purchase my business?
Will I sell to an external buyer?
Will I sell internally - to my family, partners, key staff?
3) What is the legacy I want to leave?
4) What do I want to do in the next phase of my life?
5) What is my timetable?
Developing and implementing a Transition Strategy can be a long term process that begins with working out the answer to these questions, planning the strategy and identifying the action steps to 'make it all happen.'
All these questions are inter-related. For instance, the owner must decide who the prospective buyers might be. If it will be internal buyers, the seller must determine that the buyers are prepared well in advance. The buyers must have passion, the ability to manage the business and the money to buy the business on the owner’s terms.
Several owners I've worked with expected to sell to their partners or staff only to discover that there wasn't enough time or the potential buyers didn't have the resources.
I have also worked with several owners who think they are ready to sell the business but 'get cold feet' because they aren't prepared, emotionally, to move on with their lives. They haven't chosen a next phase of their lives after they make the transition. Making the decisions feels like a dead end or like falling off a cliff. So they hold on too long and their equity diminishes.
For the transition to be successful, the owner must addresses the five questions and develop a comprehensive Transition Strategy well in advance.
My work focuses on these five questions. I begin working with the business owner, helping her or him explore their aspirations and cataloguing the key issues they need to address to plan their transition, Working with the owner, and sometimes their key professional advisors, I help the owner identify he or/his desired results and develop a transition strategy to achieve those results.
In future articles, I’ll discuss various elements of the planning process.
Showing posts with label sustainablity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sustainablity. Show all posts
Friday, July 22, 2011
Saturday, August 14, 2010
FIVE WAYS YOUR BUSINESS OWNER'S WORLD IS CHANGING - Why you need to think about it
Do you feel the earth moving under your feet? Every business owner is experiencing change. But each of you responds in the different way. Some anticipate and adjust – experimenting with new approaches and new processes. Others ‘hunker down’ and keep doing what worked, hoping that it will work again.
But the change is often so significant that ‘fine tuning’ what you used to do may not be enough. If you are unable to ‘meet your market,’ your company’s future is in doubt. Here are five ways change is occurring – some external, some internal.
Your Customers’ Buying Patterns are Changing Some are outsourcing, often overseas, products they bought from you. Some are abandoning old products and old production methods and no longer want the items your company used to sell to them. Or their product mix has changed and they aren’t buying as much from you that they used to.
Technology is Changing Your customer wants you to provide a better or different product/service - or produce it faster or cheaper. If you don’t or can’t meet their needs, they’ll find someone who will and you’ll lose that income stream.
Communication Methods are Different Face to face contact is still important to stay in touch with your current customers to understand how their needs and buying patterns are changing. You also need to be ‘out there’ finding prospective new customers and understanding how your markets are changing. In addition, you need to get the word out via the internet and the new social media. In addition to our web site, other electronic media (face book, blogs, newsletters, etc.) are essential to help prospects learn about your company’s unique capabilities.
Your Employees’ Attitudes Are Changing They know what’s going on in the world and in your markets. If they don’t see the company changing with the times, they get scared and start protecting their interests – working slower to make each job last, being unwilling to try new ideas, Or they leave your company to find new opportunities – often with the best people going first!
You Are Changing, Too Maybe you’re ‘running out of steam;’ losing your passion for this work. Maybe your knowledge and experience don’t match the changing world. Maybe you are ‘playing not to lose,’ no longer willing to take risks; not wanting to invest money in new methods, new equipment and training for your people. Maybe you don’t want to ‘get out there’ to meet with your customers and prospects – which brings us back to the first point!
The bottom line is that you need to ‘think bold and act bold.’ What used to work may not be good enough for your company’s survival and future success.
For you, the owner, its essential that you step back from your day to day problem solving and take a long term, big picture look at the new environment your company is operating in. And you may have to set a new direction to succeed in these new times.
Or, maybe, its time to face the fact that you and your company no longer fit in this changed world. If that’s the case, its time to transition into a new phase of your life: one that fits you and matches this different world.
Making that transition, as daunting as it may seem, is better than going down with the sinking ship!
But the change is often so significant that ‘fine tuning’ what you used to do may not be enough. If you are unable to ‘meet your market,’ your company’s future is in doubt. Here are five ways change is occurring – some external, some internal.
Your Customers’ Buying Patterns are Changing Some are outsourcing, often overseas, products they bought from you. Some are abandoning old products and old production methods and no longer want the items your company used to sell to them. Or their product mix has changed and they aren’t buying as much from you that they used to.
Technology is Changing Your customer wants you to provide a better or different product/service - or produce it faster or cheaper. If you don’t or can’t meet their needs, they’ll find someone who will and you’ll lose that income stream.
Communication Methods are Different Face to face contact is still important to stay in touch with your current customers to understand how their needs and buying patterns are changing. You also need to be ‘out there’ finding prospective new customers and understanding how your markets are changing. In addition, you need to get the word out via the internet and the new social media. In addition to our web site, other electronic media (face book, blogs, newsletters, etc.) are essential to help prospects learn about your company’s unique capabilities.
Your Employees’ Attitudes Are Changing They know what’s going on in the world and in your markets. If they don’t see the company changing with the times, they get scared and start protecting their interests – working slower to make each job last, being unwilling to try new ideas, Or they leave your company to find new opportunities – often with the best people going first!
You Are Changing, Too Maybe you’re ‘running out of steam;’ losing your passion for this work. Maybe your knowledge and experience don’t match the changing world. Maybe you are ‘playing not to lose,’ no longer willing to take risks; not wanting to invest money in new methods, new equipment and training for your people. Maybe you don’t want to ‘get out there’ to meet with your customers and prospects – which brings us back to the first point!
The bottom line is that you need to ‘think bold and act bold.’ What used to work may not be good enough for your company’s survival and future success.
For you, the owner, its essential that you step back from your day to day problem solving and take a long term, big picture look at the new environment your company is operating in. And you may have to set a new direction to succeed in these new times.
Or, maybe, its time to face the fact that you and your company no longer fit in this changed world. If that’s the case, its time to transition into a new phase of your life: one that fits you and matches this different world.
Making that transition, as daunting as it may seem, is better than going down with the sinking ship!
Friday, April 16, 2010
THREE RETIREMENT STRATEGIES
In my work with business owners, I encounter three strategies for dealing with ‘work-life transitions’ – often called retirement.
The first strategy is to ignore the problem and just keep on working – even after they have lost their ‘edge,’ their passion and their energy. They don’t have an alternate lifestyle to move into so they just keep doing the only thing they know. They stay too long and suck the life out of their business, significantly reducing the value of their equity in the process.
Then, one day, they’ve ‘had it.’ Without much prior planning, they quit – maybe because of poor health or because the business is failing and is no longer sustainable or they just ‘burnout.’ They have no idea what they will do next or what will happen with their business. They sell the business when they have to, instead of when the want to, maybe for ‘pennies on the dollar.’ And the life they are left with is empty, sterile, and directionless. They struggle between meaningless activity and boredom.
There is a second, special kind of people who successfully keep on working: artists, writers, some attorneys and others who work independently, without an organization to support them. Their value is their personal work, not the organization they lead. ‘Living their passion,’ they do it as long as they can, often into their 80s and 90s. For example, Peter Drucker, the prolific management writer (over 30 books) and consultant remained active, albeit in a somewhat diminished role until he died at age 95 in 2005. For him, his work and his passion were one in the same – to work is to live.
The third group follows a different strategy. They plan ahead, thinking ‘transition’ long before the time when they will leave the business. Even while still actively working, they regularly step back from the day to day operation of their business and begin to plan for the next phase of their life. Ultimately, they leave on their own terms.
This third strategy could involve starting a new business, take a new role in their original company or working somewhere else. Or they might work with a cause for which they have a great passion. This life of service gives them great pleasure and satisfaction -– giving them ‘psychic income’ while providing a much needed service. And they have time for personal/family pursuits.
There are several of keys to planning a successful departure from the business:
All this takes time – often several years. So it’s important to start early. Waiting too long can severely limit a person’s options both for himself and for the business.
The moral? Start thinking about the next phase of your life and regularly block out time to make choices about how you will create a meaningful, fulfilling life after your work/life transition.
What is your life strategy? What thought have you given to your future? What will be the next phase of your life – after you transition out of your business? What are you planning for the future of your company after you move on? When is that last time you took time to give this serious consideration? What are you going to take some more time to do it again?
I work with business owners who are contemplating retirement. I can help you. Contact me to explore your options and develop a plan for your future. Call me by April 30 and our first conversation is complimentary.
The first strategy is to ignore the problem and just keep on working – even after they have lost their ‘edge,’ their passion and their energy. They don’t have an alternate lifestyle to move into so they just keep doing the only thing they know. They stay too long and suck the life out of their business, significantly reducing the value of their equity in the process.
Then, one day, they’ve ‘had it.’ Without much prior planning, they quit – maybe because of poor health or because the business is failing and is no longer sustainable or they just ‘burnout.’ They have no idea what they will do next or what will happen with their business. They sell the business when they have to, instead of when the want to, maybe for ‘pennies on the dollar.’ And the life they are left with is empty, sterile, and directionless. They struggle between meaningless activity and boredom.
There is a second, special kind of people who successfully keep on working: artists, writers, some attorneys and others who work independently, without an organization to support them. Their value is their personal work, not the organization they lead. ‘Living their passion,’ they do it as long as they can, often into their 80s and 90s. For example, Peter Drucker, the prolific management writer (over 30 books) and consultant remained active, albeit in a somewhat diminished role until he died at age 95 in 2005. For him, his work and his passion were one in the same – to work is to live.
The third group follows a different strategy. They plan ahead, thinking ‘transition’ long before the time when they will leave the business. Even while still actively working, they regularly step back from the day to day operation of their business and begin to plan for the next phase of their life. Ultimately, they leave on their own terms.
This third strategy could involve starting a new business, take a new role in their original company or working somewhere else. Or they might work with a cause for which they have a great passion. This life of service gives them great pleasure and satisfaction -– giving them ‘psychic income’ while providing a much needed service. And they have time for personal/family pursuits.
There are several of keys to planning a successful departure from the business:
- Choosing the ‘next phase’ of their life,
- Building a sustainable, saleable business,
- Deciding whether to sell internally, to partners, associates and/or family members, or externally to an outside buyer,
- Fully withdrawing their investment before giving up control.
All this takes time – often several years. So it’s important to start early. Waiting too long can severely limit a person’s options both for himself and for the business.
The moral? Start thinking about the next phase of your life and regularly block out time to make choices about how you will create a meaningful, fulfilling life after your work/life transition.
What is your life strategy? What thought have you given to your future? What will be the next phase of your life – after you transition out of your business? What are you planning for the future of your company after you move on? When is that last time you took time to give this serious consideration? What are you going to take some more time to do it again?
I work with business owners who are contemplating retirement. I can help you. Contact me to explore your options and develop a plan for your future. Call me by April 30 and our first conversation is complimentary.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
DISCOVERING COMMON GROUND
Yesterday, I made a presentation on business succession planning at the Niagara EXPO and the conversation with the group was facinating!
The conversation focused on the three elements of successful succession: Financial, Organizational and Personal transition. My beginning mindset was on business leaders and business owners contemplating retirement.
But the majority of people in the room were not business leaders or business owners! They were middle managers and even a couple of folks just out of college who were a long ways from retirement. So I 'fine tuned' the presentation to fit their interests and backgounds.
I had a similar experience a few weeks ago when I presented to a group of financial planners. I started talking about business owners and discovered that many in the room had shifted their 'take' on the presentation to their personal situations!
The neat thing about both experiences was that the three part focus: financial, organization and personal resonated with both groups! I discovered that no matter where a person is in their life, when they step back to gain a perspective, they have concerns/interests in all three areas.
They discover that they need to think about where they are and where they want to go - and then make 'life adjustments' to get themselves on track to live a live that will be rewarding and fulfilling to them. They must live their lives by their standards and values, not someone else's.
So I'll keep my three part focus but expand my perspective to a wider range of people including business leaders and owners and others, too.
The conversation focused on the three elements of successful succession: Financial, Organizational and Personal transition. My beginning mindset was on business leaders and business owners contemplating retirement.
But the majority of people in the room were not business leaders or business owners! They were middle managers and even a couple of folks just out of college who were a long ways from retirement. So I 'fine tuned' the presentation to fit their interests and backgounds.
I had a similar experience a few weeks ago when I presented to a group of financial planners. I started talking about business owners and discovered that many in the room had shifted their 'take' on the presentation to their personal situations!
The neat thing about both experiences was that the three part focus: financial, organization and personal resonated with both groups! I discovered that no matter where a person is in their life, when they step back to gain a perspective, they have concerns/interests in all three areas.
They discover that they need to think about where they are and where they want to go - and then make 'life adjustments' to get themselves on track to live a live that will be rewarding and fulfilling to them. They must live their lives by their standards and values, not someone else's.
So I'll keep my three part focus but expand my perspective to a wider range of people including business leaders and owners and others, too.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
WHY A BLOG?
Here is my first blog entry - after eight years of writing a newsletter.
I'll still continue to publish a newsletter from time to time. The newsletter gives me a space to develop ideas in more depth and to stay in touch with those who aren't into 'that blog stuff.'
The blog format gives several advantages not available with a newsletter.
It's easier for people interested in succession planning to find me through my 'tags' and the search engine system. The expansion of my contacts through the newsletter was mostly people who I had met - a slow process.
Blogs are much easier to publish so I plan to produce an issue much more often that I can so a newsletter.
The interaction with blog readers is more robust. Readers can make comments that I and other readers can read and respond to. The result is more dialogue, more trading of ideas and through that dialogue a greater chance for all of us to learn.
So here we go! SUCCESSION SUCCESS - the blog, is up and running.
Pete Wendel
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