Family Business
Issue No. 26 - December/January 2005/06
Exiting the scene, stage by stage
Succession planning is a ‘hot button’ issue being touted by a range of businesses, consultants and publications.
It’s abundantly clear that small business owners are rarely prepared for exiting their business as they near retirement age and that has created a headache.
Bstar, a specialist transition planning company is conscious of the coming wave of Baby Boomer retirement and the challenge it represents for businesses and the accountants and other financial professionals who advise them.
Based in Townsville, Bstar, through Bstar SA in Adelaide, offers a range of succession options that focus on what owners can do within their own business to provide for a smooth exit without compromising their life’s work.
With the average of small business owners in Australia reported to be over 57 years, Bstar strongly recommends taking action soon to plan for succession. Other research emphasizes the need – half of SME owners expect the sale of their business to fund their retirement but 68% do not have a succession plan in place.
But how will they create one? To whom will they transfer the business and when? If they are relying on the sale of the business to fund their retirement, do they need to opt for growth and the introduction of improvements to increase the transfer value. Have they any idea what their business is worth now?
Could they evaluate an offer if they received one and could they stand up well to a due diligence process?
Bstar’s solution to clarifying these issues is called Business Life Planning, a process to help business owners think things through.
Owners are taken away from their day-to-day business and Bstar facilitates discussions which help owners make their own decisions and set goals and action plans for themselves.
The end result is a checklist of steps which the appropriate professional advisers can help them to implement. Business Life Planning facilitates a deci...
