Transition Planning

Quick Summary
It’s always out there on the horizon. And eventually it happens. Either by choice, opportunity or necessity, your business faces an organizational change. It’s time to sell or merge. Or go public. Or retire.
 
Transferring your business is probably the biggest deal of your life. Yet many small business owners have no strategy for such a change. And that can be a critical mistake. Here are some important things to include in a smart, successful organizational change management process and plan.

Managing the Transition

Transition is the time between when you make your decision – to sell or merge, go public or retire – and the day it happens. A key group of advisors become your core transition team. To ensure that your company runs smoothly during this period, you and your team should draw up a formal transition plan.

Positioning Your Company for Sale

If you’ve decided to sell your business, you’ll need to prepare a Sales Agreement, the core document for selling business assets and/or company stock. It defines everything you intend to sell of the business, assets, customer lists, intellectual property and goodwill. Forward it to your attorney for review (or enlist your attorney’s help in drafting it).

Establishing the Succession Team

Succession planning is smoothest and most effective when it’s a team effort. And one of the keys to a successful transition is being sure that the people who take over for you are well-trained, qualified professionals whom you’ve groomed, via a workforce development and management training program.
 
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