Creating a succession plan for your business

As you started forming your own business, you may not have thought a lot about who will take over if you pass away or when you want to retire. While you may have considered a handful of potential candidates to fill your shoes, it likely was not in the front of your mind.

However, having a succession plan is essential to owning a business. The sooner you create your succession plan, the more support you can give to the next person in line.

Here’s what you should consider as you get ready to create a succession plan for your business.

Talking to the candidates

You may be surrounded by a mix of people who are either excited about taking over your business or those who are not interested at all. As you determine who is a good candidate, it is critical to talk to the people you have in mind to figure out who is genuinely committed and who might flake out.

Before you start having conversations, you should make your own list of traits you want to look for in an ideal candidate. By starting with characteristics instead of specific individuals, you can talk to people more objectively about their interest and what they bring to the table.

As you start talking to family members and other candidates, you should speak to them about the benefits and challenges of owning and running the business. You can help someone who is nervous understand why you love the industry and add perspective for someone who does not understand the job.

Supporting the right person

Once you narrow down your list, you can start getting them involved (or more involved) in the business’s day-to-day operations. As they begin to develop their skills, you can start giving them the training and support that helped you gain success.

Depending on your timeline, developing your successor can include education and other training opportunities in your industry. Rather than having to learn some of the more difficult lessons, your successor could use your momentum to help your company continue to be successful for a long time.