Blog Archives - Page 6 of 11 - The Transition Strategists

The Key Role Your Next Adventure™ Plays in Your Business Transition

Transitioning a business to a successor is easy for owners who aren’t interested in the future of the companies they’ve built and believe that leaving behind a trail of broken relationships is just the price of a business transition. Business transitions are not so easy, however, for owners who care deeply about their relationships with the most important people in their lives and want their companies to flourish after they leave. We are privileged to work with owners in the second group and designed The Transition Roadmap Developer™ (TRD) to

Elizabeth Ledoux November 3, 2022

What To Do When Your Child Doesn’t Want to Take Over Your Business

“Mom, I need to tell you something… ” These words would set off alarm bells in most parents’ heads, but the ringing can be deafening when they come from the child you always dreamed would take over your business. That dream can shatter when the sentence that follows is: “Running this company is an amazing opportunity for someone, but that someone just isn’t me.” If it’s been your dream to put the successful business you’ve built into the hands of your child(ren), it’s natural to be disappointed or even angry

Elizabeth Ledoux October 16, 2022

Are you really open minded in your search for a business successor?

I attended a workshop for business owners recently and heard many conversations about the search for successors. Several mentioned that because they couldn’t find “the right successor,” to continue their legacy, they were resigned to selling to an outside third party. When these owners explained to me why their children, business partners or longtime key employees weren’t “right,” I left these conversations wondering what ever happened to curiosity? I was tempted to ask, “Are you really open minded in your search for a business successor?” As I recall these conversations,

Marcy McNeal September 30, 2022

Reach Your Chosen Business Transition Destination With Your Relationships Intact

Believe it or not, tire alignment comes to mind when I see owners stuck between the reality of a business transition with its confusing number of options and cacophony of opinions and the ideal—a business transition that 1) meets their goals and 2) maintains their most important relationships. Mechanics align our cars’ tires so that we reach our chosen destinations safely. As Transition Strategists, we use The Transition Compass to help you reach your chosen business transition destination with your relationships intact. The Symptoms of Misalignment Perhaps you recognize one

Deborah Davis, MS, PCC September 22, 2022

Succession Planning Done Right

The HBO series Succession is a dramatization of the transition of a business from one generation to the next, a morality tale about what can happen when a Generation 1 owner fails to create a coherent plan to pass a business to members of Generation 2. It has been successful with both critics and audiences, receiving nominations for 25 Emmy awards. Millions of viewers have watched the Roy family do everything wrong, destroying relationships while driving the family business to the brink of disaster. Succession planning done right may not

Elizabeth Ledoux September 19, 2022

4 Steps To a Successful Family Business Transition

We’ve all heard the horror stories about family business transfers that create irreparable damage—parents estranged from children, children at war with siblings, and standoffs that endure for generations. It doesn’t have to be this way! We’ve worked with many families who have moved through business transitions and kept their relationships healthy. While every family is unique, we recommend that leaders take 4 steps to a successful family business transition. 4 Steps to a Successful Family Business Transition: The Foundation for a Successful Transition The transition of a business to an

Elizabeth Ledoux September 9, 2022

Four Questions to Ask Before Passing a Business to the Next Generation

As a longtime advisor who helps business owners craft plans to put their companies in the hands of successors, I’m often asked questions about how companies can be transitioned to their adult children. Before moving forward, I suggest that there are at least four questions to ask before passing a business to the next generation. Business transitions from one generation to the next are complicated because so much is at stake: owner’s financial and emotional wellbeing, the company’s success, and the wellbeing of the entire family. Yet the goal of

Elizabeth Ledoux September 2, 2022

Happy business owner - the transition strategists

Four Ways to Make Your Business Resilient

Resilience is a quality we cultivate in ourselves and try to instill in our businesses because the greatest life or business plan in the world can’t prepare us for every tough challenge or unforeseen situation. Well, the ongoing interruptions in the supply chain, the war in Ukraine, continual mutations in the COVID virus, a tight labor market, and rising rates of interest and inflation certainly check many of the tough challenges boxes. What lessons did you learn from the COVID pandemic and how have you positioned your company to meet

Elizabeth Ledoux August 31, 2022

business transition strategists man looking out office window

Cut the Ties of Dependency Between You and Your Business

Owners wear many hats as they grow their businesses: rainmaker, HR manager, CEO, cheerleader, and director of finance, to name a few. Yet if they are still wearing all these hats as they move toward their business transitions and Next Adventures, that’s a problem. If you don’t cut the ties of dependency between you and your business, you face a huge obstacle on your road to a successful transition. Think for a moment: ???? Does the success of your company depend on your knowledge, skills, relationships, and experience? ???? Does

Elizabeth Ledoux August 19, 2022