The hard work of an owner that is inherent in running a company is mostly apparent at the entrepreneurial and inception stage, right? That is when business acumen merges with sweat equity to forge and guide a commercial creation and steer it to ongoing success.
That is certainly a widely held notion among many would-be start-up principals, who believe that their key objective must logically be on enterprise establishment and subsequent profitability.
That does make sense, of course, but only to a degree. Candidly, there can be just as much foresight and effort involved in ensuring the successful continuation of a business following its creator’s retirement as there was in launching the enterprise and ensuring its long-term prosperity.
In fact, a smart succession strategy for an established business is invariably a top-tier concern for any owner who contemplates company continuance following his or her departure from the helm.
And it is anything but a casual consideration, a point we duly note at the experienced Pennsylvania business and estate planning law firm of William J. Benz. We point to the common perception of many people who think that business succession is customarily as simple as an owner simply calling it quits and inviting younger company principals to take over.
We stress on our website that, “It is not that simple.”
Actually, a sound business succession strategy takes a lot of advance thought and careful action to be successfully realized. Considerable planning is required. A formal strategy must be crafted that is in sync with an established timetable. One or more successors must be selected and made fully ready for the transition. An owner’s own retirement must be planned.
Collectively, that entails multiple moving parts and a lot of time-sensitive preparatory work. A proven legal business team can help with the details.