The best time to begin succession planning for any business is when the business plan is created. Knowing this isn’t the case for most business owners, the next best time is now. Just as you are continually working on plans to make your business successful, you should also be working on plans that will provide [...]
Succession planning is not about you leaving the business; it’s about building a foundation of success today that will provide the opportunity for future generations. Before making the next purchase or striking the next deal to grow your organization, you should ask yourself the following questions: Do I have the full support of my management [...]
The bottom line answer is YES, because succession planning builds business value. Prospective buyers, banks, Wall Street and estate tax auditors all recognize that business value is dependent upon the predictability that the earnings will continue after a transfer of ownership occurs, whether by sale, gift or estate bequest. These same parties also understand that [...]
The key areas that should be addressed in your succession plan, which as a whole are referred to as the Succession Matrix are: Personal Financial Planning, Business Structuring, Business Performance, Strategic Planning, Leadership & Management Continuity, Successor Preparation, Management Synergy & Teamwork, Family Governance, and Family Dynamics. These ten factors significantly impact each other. Issues [...]
While the main purpose of succession planning is to ensure the continuation of business success, succession planning brings along many other benefits. Additional perks of succession planning can include higher personal financial security outside of the business, better family relationships, less family and business stress, improved employee and management retention, and increased performance and profits.
Your accountant and attorney provide critical expertise and should be an integral part of your succession planning team. However, few attorneys and CPAs have developed a full understanding and are comfortable with facilitating highly emotional and interpersonal management and business issues. In addition to estate planning and business structuring, your business is vulnerable to issues [...]
Having an exit strategy and your estate plan in order is a great first step to succession planning. However, your business’ future success is dependent upon addressing issues from 10 different perspectives. Estate planning and exit strategy only represent a subset of one of the ten perspectives, Personal Financial Planning. Without looking at your business [...]
We believe that in addition to the business owner and succession planner, the succession planning team should also consist of the company’s leadership and management team, the owner’s family, and the owner’s advisors (Accountants, Attorneys, Wealth Management and Investment Advisors, etc.)
The Rawls Group works in a team effort with your family, key leadership, accountant, attorney and your current advisors in a 3-phase process: Phase I determines where you stand now in relation to your succession goals; Phase 2 is focused on succession plan development and implementation based upon what was identified in Phase I; and [...]
