I specialise in family businesses and have worked through and overcome the frustrations and challenges that family-owned businesses often face. Ultimately, I have assisted in achieving personal and business goals for both the owner as well as their team, be it family or not.
There is nothing more important in a family run business than to create a legacy for future generations. This is achieved through the implementation of simple, practical tools, systems and methodology that has been developed specifically for small and medium sized businesses who want their businesses to be profitable, work and run without them. Does this sound like what you need in your business?
So, a few questions; as a business owner is your business:
· Able to sustain itself whether you are present or not?
· Still dependant on you financially to support the business, but the operation can run without your input
· Still dominated by your presence and control both financially and operationally?
Where are you currently in your business?
You may now be in a position to either:
· Sell your business
· Groom up a family member as CEO or general manager (GM) to take over the reins from you
· Take your business to the next level (Growth Phase) by wanting to implement or improve your systems and bring on/groom your team to scale your business
But what do you, as the business owner want? Do you want to be in or out? This is a question that is crucial to consider as your answer will determine how successful your business will continue to be into the future. Your successor and team will need to know what your intentions are. If you are not sure then engage with me and let’s set up an alignment where we will explore your options, what your personal goals are and how your business can assist you in achieving these goals.
What are your options should you decide to do any of the above?
1ST OPTION:
Sell your business*
There are a number of factors that influence the ability to sell and the price that buyers will be willing to pay for your business. These are:
· Strong, consistent cash flow
· Assets owned
· People, process, and systems
· Scalability of the business
· Culture of the organisation
2ND OPTION:
Groom a CEO/GM to take over the reins from you
If your business has the above in place and you don’t want to sell, then you can identify your successor who you will groom into your position over a period of time. The first requirement is to find your ideal family member who will be the right fit for this position. They would already have been in your business learning the ropes and have developed sound skills, expertise, and experience in the key focus areas of the business i.e., marketing, sales, finance (profitability), systems and team (sustainability) as these are vital to the continued success of your business.
3RD OPTION:
Implement/improve robust systems and develop the team to prepare your business for growth
If your business does not have or you are not confident with the above in place then who, if not you, do you need to bring into your business to ensure that they will be able to implement or improve the systems and grow the team?
Again, consider who in your family would be the right fit for each of the key focus areas of your business to prepare your business for growth and ultimately to put it into a saleable position where you are able to make the decision whether to sell or groom up a CEO/GM.
Do you have family members who are equipped in the key focus areas i.e., marketing, sales, finance, systems, and teams? This will ensure that your business will be robust and equipped to run whether you are present or not.
Everything I have mentioned above is simple, but not easy and, you may be thinking ‘easier said than done’. I agree. However, whether you know or don’t know what you want, contact me and I will show you how.
*Pieter Scholtz is a master licensee for ActionCOACH South Africa
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