Succession planning would not be needed if owner intended to wind down operations upon his retirement, but only 4% of Canadian small and medium businesses that responded to CFIB plan to close down their firms. The response from American small business owners would probably be similar. Yet without adequate succession planning, firms could be in disarray upon owners’ retirement and unfortunately businesses might fade away.

Inevitably, succession planning forces many owners to agonize over whether to pass on their business to family, employees, or a private buyer. They also worry about selling at right price and finding a buyer who will treat business and staff well. All of this planning occurs at a time when they are considering retirement and other changes in their life that will occur when they are no longer running a business. As a rule of thumb, business should start developing a succession plan at least five years before owner hopes to step aside or as soon as corporation acquires capital assets with significant value. It can take up to two years to sell a small business.

About 30 per cent of successions feature previous owner advancing a loan or seller financing to buyer, because small business bank loans are difficult to get from a bank. When there are no family members interested, small business owners should consider handling their succession through life insurance. But few small and medium business owners have that kind of foresight.

a. Don’t limit your time to get there. It took awhile to get where you are. Give yourself time to get to where you want to be. b. Find objective people to help you knock down barriers. Maybe a pastor, a counselor/coach, or an objective friend. Many friends and family can not be objective so you must be discerning in these choices. c. Step out of your comfort zone. To do something you really want to do may require hard work or short-term sacrifice to be able to get it. Even if it is your family who has to participate in sacrifice, in long-run it will be a better life for them also. d. And most importantly, pray to God to give you guidance and direction every step of way. If it feels right you will know it’s from God.

When I decided that I wanted to become a Christian Counselor there were many barriers. I would have to go back to graduate school for a minimum of two years. To do that I would have to quit my job and we would have to sell our house and reduce our expenses significantly. This would affect my husband and kids as much as it would affect me. At time I was commuting to New Orleans to work. We were making a lot of money, however, we were spending it on a house I didn’t see and my kids were spending more time with babysitter than me. So yes, they hated giving up pool and unlimited wish list, but we have transformed our family life and spend incredibly special time together.

The Lord promises us peace and joy if we follow Him. He never said anything about easy. But I have experienced His promise. By stepping out in faith and following His plan for my life, He has rewarded me tenfold. I hope that you are at a place in your life where you can stop to find God’s plan for you. I realize how difficult this process is for anyone, especially if you are busy. At Murphy Toerner and Associates our mission is to equip people for successful living. I have developed a Life by Design coaching program that can provide you with some structure and accountability in this process. It also includes many exercises and assessments to help you discover who you are and what you want out of life. And most importantly we provide a sounding board to help you brainstorm ideas, to pray with you and for you, to be an objective collaborator, and to gently show you discrepancies in your plan or areas that may be outside of God’s plans. If you feel like you may want some help, simply call us at (225)753-7773 or look for more information on our website at www.murphytoerner.com . In meantime, I hope that these ideas will help you to:

•Assess where you are in your life.

•Equip you to uncover your authentic self and dreams for future.

•Inspire you to tap in to God’s love and power in your life.

•And motivate you to act through or around your barriers.

I will end with a favorite bible verse. One that really helped me to have patience through process of finding God's plan for my life.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh

a time to mourn and a time to dance

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)

If you enjoyed this article and are interested in more articles by this author and other free resources please visit our website www.murphytoerner.com.

Counseling & Coaching Available: Call our offices @ 225.753.7773