When I sit down with a business owner for the first time I ask them what their short and long terms goals for the business. Many owners wish to sell their business and make enough to retire on. Some have not thought that far and only have viewed their business as a way to make a current living. Others wish to pass their business busines down to a child. No matter what their desired outcome there has to be a solid plan as to how to accomplish it.
I speak of this subject today as I approach my oldest daughter’s 21st birthday this week. When I had stated my business over 13 years ago, I had the dream of working with my children in the business and eventually passing it down to one or all of them. I have 4 children and so far my two eldest children do not seem to have any interest in doing what I do day in and day out. While my younger two are still too young to make a decision on what they would like to be when they grow up, I am faced with the possibility that none of them may have an interest in accounting. That being said, I need to have an alternative plan as to what I, too will do with my business when I am not wanting to continue to work.
I am sure, that like a lot of you, my spouse tells me that I will never retire (business owners are a different breed in my opinion). I do need an exit strategy other than the company being passed down to a child. No matter what the final outcome be, I need to work on the business, not in the business. Most small business owners, myself included, the business as it stands right now is not self-sufficient. Building a plan, implementing it and maintaining it are all the part of what we at FBS Accounting do for our clients every day.
There are a lot of firms that you can hire to help you establish your exit strategy. Many of these firms will come in, disrupt your daily operations for a time and then leave. They will come back weeks or months later with a final bill and a lengthy report that will answer all your questions. Just follow the report and you will be fine they say. Some will succeed, many of those plans will fail though.
Unlike those firms, we operate completely different than those firms. We become part of the team, instead of disrupting the operations. We develop the plan while working within the business. Once the plan has been accepted by ownership and staff, we stay on board and help with execution of the plan. Like any plan, there are bound to be adjustments along the way and we will be there to ensure that they happen for the right reasons.
If you would like to get a lot of fancy reading material, there are plenty of firms that can help. When you want a solid executable plan with limited disruption, call us at FBS Accounting!