Business Succession: Foundational Principles

As a business owner approaches slow-down time in his life, he might be asking, If I give the business to the one or two sons who are running it, what about the other six children? How can we be fair to all? How can I protect the employees who are my extended family or fellow church members? If I quit, how do we make enough money for our future needs? What if my sons fail—or worse, what if the money ruins them?

Passing on a business is a completely different animal than passing on the family farm was for the previous generation. We are in new territory as the cash flows and values of our businesses continue to rise.Thankfully, there are some foundational principles for business succession to help the older owner and his family see the way forward.