Thanks for the blog.

The lack of succession planing in most small businesses is not in fact procrastination but the realisation that it comes very low on their list of priorities.

The ‘Fortune’ survey should have asked the question “What will happen to your business when you have had enough?”

I speculate the answer would have been “It will be sold.”

Unless one has family members interested in the business at a very early stage, most business people intend to sell. For that no succession planning is needed and mortality is not an issue.

I agree that before selling a plan is needed but not a succession plan.

Regards,

Steve Coleman

http://www.businessmanagementbasics.com

Read your blog with great interest.

In my new book Every Family’s Business I suggest exactly as you that every business must be for sale–always. I go further and offer 12 quetions that every business owner should ask themselves in order to drive the finality of their business. The book takes a dim view of gifting operating businesses to the next generation, arguing that this is precisely how families destroy wealth and family relationships. What makes the book different is that the 12 questions allow business owners to build an exit plan collaboratively with their family, making the sale of the business the “objective” –SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE. Having run a family business –having come from three generations of family business founders and sellers, the book offers a different take on succession planning. The legacy that generations of our family have passed on is not company names or brands but rather the wealth crystalized through the sale of businesses. The legacy also includes the knowledge that understanding when to exit a business is as important as knowing when to start or invest in one. The book helps business owners never to confuse their love for Business with their love of “a” business a subtle but crucial distinction for the preservation of generational wealth.

With 24 million closely held businesses in North America being led by aging owners, the services of your firm will become increasingly important.I beleive I have a book that can help you help many of these firms protect the value created in their businesses through the planning and execution of their sale.

I would be happy to send you a complimentary reveiw copy and hear your thoughts.

Sincerely,

Thomas Deans Ph.D.
Best-selling Author of, “Every Family’s Business: A Blueprint for Protecting Family Busiess Wealth”

http://www.ProtectingFamilyBusinessWealth.com