There are a lot a good reasons to run your own business.  You enjoy a lot of freedom to do the type of work you like, work with people you want to work with, and set your hours. Life is good in the small business world.

With fine tuning your business operations, you should also think about succession planning, as your company’s survival depends on it.  So why is it on the back burner of most small business professionals?  According to a survey by Nationwide Insurance, sixty percent of small business owners do not have a succession plan, and of those owners, nearly half said they didn’t think it was necessary. The survey also found that business owners in their 20s and 30s were more likely to have a succession plan than those who were baby boomers or in their 40s.

So what do these young business owners know that the older generations don’t?  Maybe they know it is best to plan early and be ready in case you want to move onto another adventure.  Selling a business takes time. Leaving a business due to sickness or death can leave a business, and the owner’s family, vulnerable to huge losses, or at the minimum, with difficult financial decisions. 

A succession plan doesn’t always need to be complicated.  Even a simple buy/sell agreement among the owners, if more than one, can help. At a minimum, a business owner should prepare a durable power of attorney which would allow his representative to continue the business operations in case of disability, and a last will and testament, in case of death.  

The best action is to get legal advice about your estate plan, and make sure your business as an asset is part of this plan. Call David Schmidt at the Woodlawn Law Center, 636-240-6667, for advice on setting up your estate plan today.