Importance of Succession Planning

Research shows that when succession planning, the earlier the better. The earlier you get started, the more options you will have to maximize business value, minimize taxes, and control how and when you scale back.

The right succession planning transfer strategy for each company is different, based on the owner’s goals and the financial situation. Our team includes professionals trained in diverse disciplines to help you manage each step of the succession process and steer a path that leads to your strategic goals. We work hand in hand with your CPA, Attorney, and Financial Planner to develop the best succession plan for you and your business.

Ownership Succession Planning

We guide the business owner to decide the timing and type of exit that is right for the business and the business owner. Working directly with company’s owner(s), Paula will help develop an exit strategy that defines your personal financial goals, identifies the best vehicle for transferring company ownership, monetizing your business and protecting your wealth. While it can take many forms, the execution of the strategy typically takes one of these paths:

Outside sale to a third party
Inside sale to next generation family members
Inside sale to non-family business partners
Transfer to family members via gifting and estate planning
Inside sale to employees or an ESOP
Retaining ownership as a family legacy asset

Business Sale Preparation

You think you want to sell, but not sure how ready you really are? We believe that in any transition, your business needs to be ready AND you need to be ready. We determine what needs to be done to grow the value of the firm to maximize the return for the business owner in the event of sale. To prepare your business for sale it makes sense to improve your bottom line performance that will increase the value of your business, improve your efficiencies, productivity, and profitability.

Exiting your business requires two things:

The business must have sustainable earnings.
The business must be able to operate without you.

Expanding through a strategic merger or acquisition can be an excellent way to build company value. This action may provide considerable benefits, but the complexity involved in these transactions—including assessing potential risks, determining appropriate value and deal structure and successfully negotiating a deal through closing—can be overwhelming. Workman White Business Strategies can help you get all the necessary preparations done for an outside or inside sale. We have relationships with fantastic advisors and work hand in hand to put the company’s best foot forward.

Leadership Assessments and Development

We perform assessments within the organization to make sure that the right people are in the right jobs and that the up and coming successors are set up for success by creating comprehensive leadership development programs. Often overlooked, there are many positive benefits of Leadership Succession Planning. It helps build company loyalty, promotes longevity, and ensures company success after the business owner leaves. Training the next managers is a key to the success of an Ownership Transition or Ownership Succession. At Workman White, we develop turnkey, individualized plans for your team to ensure a successful succession plan.
Leadership planning focuses on developing the “human” capital in your company and management team. A succession plan is written with open communication, trust, and a total commitment to the future success of the company. The plan is a continuous process of moving the next generation of chosen performers from management into leadership.
The plan must prepare the business to operate profitably and successfully with or without the presence of the current owners.

Opinion of Business Value

We perform preliminary valuation analysis of what the business would be worth to a potential buyer and determine what type of buyer might be the right fit. We also use this value to determine what can be done to grow the value. Finally, we use the value to make sure that the business owner and your key people are adequately insured.

Personal Readiness

Helping the owner(s) understand their personal financial picture now and in the future is very important to the transition. Not only does the business owner need to be prepared financially for their exit, they need to be prepared emotionally and mentally. We have step by step processes to walk you through to the other side of business ownership with grace and confidence. Phase out of your business… on your terms. This is often the toughest part of a transition because the owner needs to be clear about their next-stage goals and to what extent they will be involved in the business on an ongoing basis once the business succession takes place. This does not necessarily mean a complete separation from the business, but it does involve a change in roles, which takes time to consider.

Succession Planning