Written by Early in the process of planning for your business with your advisors you have a greater chance for success when you agree on the definition and function of each of the four planning areas. This takes a little extra front end work yet saves significant time in the long run.
We want this to occur first during the Discovery part of the planning process, before we start making decisions and start designing solutions.
As a business owner, if your understanding of Succession Planning is different from your advisor’s definition it is easy to imagine a disappointing result and time wasted.
Another important step to take is to understand and agree about how the four planning areas are interconnected. You want your planning decisions for each of the areas in harmony with the others. If your planning is disjointed it could impact the value of your business.
The overriding goal is to value and protect your business. It is tempting to move too fast through this important step. Ironically if you do not take the time it ends up costing you money and time and most likely will result in unnecessary frustration. The worst case scenario is to not finalize any planning decisions.
Your business is your largest and most important asset! Make sure you and your advisors are in agreement early on in the process.