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If the topic of choosing a business successor is one that you’d rather put away for a rainy day, this article is for you. Here you’ll find two lists: the five perspectives shared by business owners who have successfully transitioned their businesses to successors and the five most important characteristics these owners looked for and found in their successors. Read more: top five must-have characteristics in a business successor. Owner characteristics Let’s begin with you, a business owner thinking about possible successors. What characteristics should you possess before you start

As we described in Part 1 of this two-part series, during the course of the transition of a business, owners, and successor participate in a three-phase dance: Phase 1:  Original owner leads and teaches the successor the steps. Phase 2:  Owner and successor alternate the lead. Phase 3:  Successor leads and the original owner follows. Ideally, owners and successors avoid each other’s toes during this dance. In the real world, however, sore toes are inevitable. When the dancers are parent and child, however, aching toes can be the least serious casualty. Without “preventative measures” (i.e., changes in behavior and attitude), injuries can include hurt feelings and irreparably damaged relationships. No one

In the course of the transition of a business, owners and successor participate in a three-phase dance: Phase 1: Original owner leads and teaches the successor the steps. Phase 2: Owner and successor are leading at the same time – a bit awkward. Phase 3: Successor leads and the original owner follows. Even in the best of circumstances, owners and successors step on each other’s toes. And when the owner and successor are also parent and child, the dance can look like a bull blundering through the proverbial china shop. Littering the floor are hurt feelings and fractured relationships instead of shattered porcelain. The long history between parent and child provides a fertile breeding ground for miscommunication, mistaken assumptions and

When Your Kid(s) Are Not Ready to Take Over Your Business…Yet. If you’re wondering whether the child (or children) whom you are considering as a successor is ready to step into your shoes, you’re not alone. Business owners in the “I don’t think my kids are quite ready” group are joined by those who are convinced that their kids are absolutely not ready. For a moment, let’s discuss the characteristics that the “best” successors share. As you read through this list, take a moment to think about your child as your successor. Do they have the ability to learn how to do what you do? Do they want to own/run their own business—yours? Is there alignment between their timetable and yours? Can they recognize new opportunities? Are they open to new challenges? Recognizing opportunities and

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected how we socialize, shop, create, worship, and educate our children. Once the pandemic eases, some aspects of our lives will return to “normal,” and some will not, including many aspects of how we do business. Our focus today is not to explore all those changes but instead, to identify what owners can do—whether their companies are doing well or not so well—to look beyond pandemic-created challenges and see the potential pandemic-created opportunities. Especially as those opportunities relate to business succession plans. The Business Challenge Few businesses are performing as their owners projected in 2019. Companies are either struggling to meet those projections or blowing through them. The question