Deciding what to do with your successful business is something that one hopes to have considerable time to ponder, but death comes to everyone. Sooner, rather than later, you need to determine what is to become of the business in which you have invested so much time and sweat. If you have a partner, or if your spouse is your partner, that decision is automatic; but in more complicated situations some pre-death planning on your part is preferred.
What you do not want to happen is to have this business hang like a stone around someone’s neck. You need to allow sufficient flexibility to allow the new owner/s to respond to market changes. A couple of things are certain. You will die and business conditions will change. Whoever operates your business will need to be able to change product lines, production methods, strategies, locations, markets, etc. as needed to have the business prosper.
Obvious candidates to receive your business are your partner/s, spouse, children, other relatives or employees. Above all, you do not want to leave it to someone who does not want it or who is not as passionate about your business as you were. Often it is the passion and drive of the original owner that keeps a business viable. After that spark is gone, many businesses fail.
Your business should not be considered as a monument to you to be operated without change. If operated this way the business will very quickly be as dead as you are. Each generation needs to be able to grow the business. There are outdoor businesses that have survived the third and fourth generations of family ownership. To to this they must change with the times.
The following is one of 21 YouTube videos on “Starting your own outdoor-based business.” If you have trouble viewing it here it may be seen on YouTube at: http://youtu.be/mMWwpPL3jyg. I will be producing a book and CD on this topic. If you would like notification when these are ready please send me your E-mail address to hoveysmith@yahoo.com. I also do one-on-one business consulting in person and via telephone. If I think that I can help you, I will on a fee basis of $200 an hour plus expenses. If I do not think that I can provide what you need, I have other resources that I can recommend at no charge.