No one wants to plan an exit strategy. An exit strategy sounds like giving up. What’s more, the self-starter who creates a whole new business rather than to work for someone else is unlikely to feel compelled to create an exit strategy. The truth is, though,...
Selling your business is hard work, and it doesn’t happen overnight. This isn’t like buying a new couch or even a new home. Conventional wisdom says it takes 6-12 months to sell a business – and that’s once you make the decision to do it. During...
Selling a business can be a challenge. In fact, the number of businesses that were sold in 2020 dropped by nearly one quarter, largely due to the economic downturn of the Coronavirus crisis.[1] But if you’re looking to sell your business, you may not be...
It’s a real investment to select and prepare a successor – and it takes real time. You can’t just hire someone into a position of authority and hope for the best. Finding the right person for the job can be a challenge. But following a...
If you have a family business, you’ve probably poured your heart and soul into it, building it into something for your children. The trouble is, only about 30% of family businesses make it to the second generation. And only 12% make it to the third. ...
More than half of small business owners in Canada have no succession plan at all – even though three-quarters of them are planning to retire in the next ten years. A formal succession plan can be difficult and time-consuming to develop, but knowing the pitfalls can...
Nearly three quarters of small business owners plan to leave their businesses in the next ten years. For some, that means passing the business along to a family member or a carefully selected successor. For others, that means selling the business. But selling a business isn’t...
Succession planning is complicated in the best of cases. Succession planning in the family business could lead to a disaster of epic proportions. The reasons for failure are endless: from emotional triggers to secrecy, from impossible expectations to a lack of respect. Families are complicated,...
If you’re running a business and you have been for a while, chances are you’re aware how indispensable you are. All the information, the relationships and the experience of the business is in your head, tied up with you and your brain. Then, something unexpected...
It’s tempting to go online and use a free service to generate your will. After all, there are so many things we can do for free online these days. Why not create your will, too? These DIY services are intentionally simple. They walk you through the process, step by...