Sooner or later, one way or another, all business owners leave their business. The question is whether they do it on their own terms. Will they sell to a family member? To investors? To key employees? To a competitor? Will they transition to an ESOP? An employee ownership trust? A worker co-op? Or will they wait too long?
It’s never too early to start thinking, and it’s rarely too late to make the best of your options. But it can be complicated: every business is different. Every owner has their own hopes, dreams, and priorities. Is it about the money? Is it about the people you leave behind? It’s a lot to think about, and when you’re running a business, it can be hard to find the time to really focus—especially if you’re not sure where to begin.
Just sorting through the options can be intimidating. And when you look for help, you often realize you’re talking to someone who is trying to sell you something. Many owners spend more time planning next year’s budget than they do planning the biggest financial event of their lives.
I think there’s a better way.
Over the years, I’ve interviewed hundreds of owners about how they built, ran, sold, transferred, and sometimes lost their businesses. I’ve learned that there is no right answer. Every succession path involves tradeoffs. But I’ve also learned that owners make better decisions when they can learn from those who’ve been through it and from those wrestling with similar questions.
Here’s my proposal: an eight-session, small-group, virtual workshop for owners who want to start doing the real work of succession planning—but don’t want to tackle it alone and would rather not get all of their information from someone whose livelihood depends on steering them toward a specific solution. Participation will be limited to approximately 10 experienced owners who are serious about succession planning and willing to share candidly with one another.
We’ll meet every other week on Zoom for two hours:
First hour: A special guest joins us—someone with real, first-hand experience who can start answering our questions. The guests will vary: In many cases, they’ll be owners who’ve chosen their plan and lived with the consequences, good and bad. In other cases, they’ll be practitioners who work on succession every day. These will be people I’ve vetted and trust to share their expertise without turning the conversation into a sales pitch.
Second hour: Peer conversation. We compare notes on what we’re thinking, what we’re learning, and what questions need to be answered. The goal is to help each other see our options more clearly, challenge our assumptions, and avoid mistakes that others have already made. We’ll get the insights only other business owners would be able to share.
We’ll look at:
Selling to family
Selling to key employees or a management team
Selling to investors or a strategic buyer/competitor
Why NOT selling could be your best option
ESOPs, employee ownership trusts, and worker co-ops
How the numbers really work
How your role, your income, and your identity change
What former owners wish they’d done differently
This will not be a series of canned presentations. It will be a working group for owners who want to participate in honest, unvarnished, sometimes gut-wrenching conversations (for example: what exactly do you owe your employees?). If you’ve been meaning to get serious about planning your exit—but keep finding reasons to put it off—this might be the nudge (and the peer group) you need.
When we’re done, you may not know exactly how you’ll exit your business. But you’ll have a much clearer understanding of your options, the tradeoffs, and the questions you should ask before making one of the most important decisions you’ll face as a business owner.
If you want to know more, reply to this email. I’m currently gauging interest before finalizing pricing and scheduling. Please also answer these three questions:
How many employees do you have?
How many years away do you think you are from an ownership transition?
Which succession paths are you most interested in learning about?
Let me know if you have any questions. And if you know someone else who might be interested, please forward this email. -- Loren