Any discussion of business succession planning has to start with the overall structure of the plan. First things first, you need to remember that this document is flexible and can be changed at any time. A business succession plan is not a document that is...
On a daily basis, any small business owner has to think about finances, legality, relationships, insurance, customers, vendors, suppliers. It is almost impossible for one person to be able to manage all of those aspects all of the time. But a business doesn’t have to...
Often when I’m advising small business owners I tell them that they need to assemble a Management Team. After telling me they can’t afford a management team, many of my clients ask: What does a management team look like? Who would be involved in that...
Most of us have heard the phrase “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” It references the notion of charity versus teaching or skill-building. We often think about the idea for basic...
For the past several weeks I’ve been talking about partnership agreements and how to legally structure a partnership. But, this post is a little bit different. It’s a little more personal and frankly a tad morbid, I suppose. I’ve been working with a client, two partners...
In previous posts, I talked about some issues that potential partners should be discussing when it comes to the planning stages of entering into a partnership. Some of those things included making sure the partners are compatible and ensuring everyone has expressed their expectations, and that...
Business partnerships can seem perfect at the get-go. But, what happens when someone wants to get out? One key topic I often advise on is having an exit strategy. When people go into business together it is almost always a peachy-keen-rose-colored-glasses atmosphere. Things are positive and...
Over the past couple of weeks I helped a client avoid what could have been a potentially fatal or at least business-killing partnership. In the end, my client was able to trust her gut, avoid the worst aspects of the problem, and pay her way...
One of the listserves I belong to recently posted a very interesting question, and it is a question that comes up quite frequently in the small business world: How do partners resolve disputes? And, most importantly, how do partners resolve disputes when they are fifty-fifty...