When you started your Massachusetts business, you may have been a young, bright-eyed enthusiast. As the years went on, you garnered various successes and knew that your business would continue thriving for years to come. At first, you may have pictured yourself gray-haired and experienced sitting behind your desk until the days the doors closed, but now, you understand that you need to appoint someone to handle the business after you retire or leave the business for other reasons.
You may be considering the succession of your company, and you certainly do not want anything to hinder its continued growth and success. Fortunately, you can create a business succession plan that allows you to still have some say in how the company operates after your departure.
Who should take over?
One of the biggest decisions to make regarding succession planning is choosing who will take over. You may have had children who came into the family business, and you intend for one or more of them to take the reins after you retire. On the other hand, you may not have had family enter the business, and instead, you may want to sell your business to your other partners or to a particularly valuable employee. Another option still is to sell the company to an outside party.
This may be the trickiest part of succession planning for you because you want to put someone you trust in charge. As a result, it is wise to start thinking about this decision early on. It may even give you time to groom a chosen person to take over confidently.
Manage the transition
Along with grooming your chosen successor, you can also take other steps to make the transition go smoothly. You can put more responsibility on your chosen person but still maintain a presence at the company in case you are needed. You can also gradually cut back your time at the office until your retirement day.
It is also important to go over your business succession plan periodically. Even if you do not intend to retire soon, having this plan in place can be useful. However, planning early does mean that you could change your mind about certain aspects of your plan, and reviewing it and updating it can help keep it in line with your current wishes.
