In the two previous issues of The Exit Planning Review™, we discussed the first two elements that must be in place before you (or your advisors) can create an Exit Plan. The first is a Target Departure Date. An Exit Plan has no relevance unless it is situated within a specific timeframe. The second element is a preliminary financial needs analysis. As owners, a sizeable portion of our wealth is tied up in our companies. Therefore, we not only need to know what our companies are worth, (read about that in the next issue) but we must also know how much money we will need upon retirement.

The third element that you must put in place to kick off your Exit Plan is to pick a Target Successor. Compared to the list of possible departure dates or the variety of needs at retirement, the list of possible successors can be quite short:
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The Importance of Shifting Core Duties Prior to Your Exit: Part One

In the past two issues, we have discussed the importance of transferring management responsibilities in advance of your planned departure date and the roles of your advisors in the process of developing a successful management transition plan. The next two articles will conclude our series on transferring management responsibilities by discussing which areas of the business you should focus on when developing your plan.

To illustrate the importance of shifting core duties prior to your exit, let’s revisit Will Tryon, our hypothetical business owner of a thriving pre-cast manufacturing company. When Will began thinking about who he should transfer management responsibilities to and which responsibilities should be transferred first, he quickly became overwhelmed because the degree of responsibilities he held as the company’s owner were complex and ingrained in his everyday routine.

To help Will simplify this sometimes complicated process, Will’s Exit Planning Advisor helped him identify the top five areas that he needed to focus on to design his management responsibility transition plan. These areas included human resources, sales and marketing, financial, infrastructure/capital investment, and general business duties. The remainder of this article will discuss the critical issues associated with human resources, as well as sales and marketing that need to be addressed in a management transition plan.
To attend the October Indianapolis Small Business Marketing Idol Contest (or participate yourself), link to this page. Marketing Contest part of 10/8 Chapter Meeting.
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