If you’re planning to transition new leadership into your small business, a business coach can help ease the process and reduce the amount of stress and anxiety that naturally comes with any big change. The key to working with a business coach during transition planning is to start early. The process can take a while, especially if you want to do it correctly. If you’re thinking of phasing out of your small business, start with Keye Strategies.
Plan
The first step will mean getting a plan down on paper. Some transitions plans can take anywhere from 5-10 years to fully implement. Starting early, and with an experienced business coach, could mean the difference in the foray being successful, or you finding yourself stuck underneath of a small business that you simply can’t get out from under.
Once you’ve got a plan, you can start working with your financial advisor to decide how much you’ll need to live on throughout your retirement. Without understanding your family’s financial needs, any decision to sell is a risky one. Too often, small business owners who decide to transition out into retirement find themselves lacking funds in the near future. Working with a business coach to decide if exit is possible requires cooperation between yourself, your coach, and your advisors.
Sell?
Business coaches can also help you decide whether sale or bringing in someone new is the best option. Depending on whether or not your family needs a continuing stream of income is the biggest factor in this decision. While selling means that you get a larger lump sum now, a business that is doing well may pay more dividends in the future by hiring new leadership.
Help Navigate
Finally, your business coach can help you navigate the pitfalls and hurdles that often pop up over the course of exit planning. While a lucky minority experience a smooth transition, that’s the exception, not the rule. Working with a business coach means that you can spend more time relaxing at your beach house and less time signing paperwork and re-scanning necessary documents.
Julie Keyes at Keye Strategies is experienced in helping business owners complete the transition planning process and finding the situation that works FOR them, not against them.