What will happen to your business when you retire?

Will you just close the doors?

According to TD Waterhouse’s 2011 Business Succession Poll, just 24% of small business owners surveyed said they had a succession plan worked out for retirement. To me that means that many of these small business owners are being very short-sighted. I say that because without a formal succession plan the business just exists from day to day.

I guess I am being very hard on some business owners, but as a person that has started a number of businesses I make my comments from a different perspective. First of all the businesses that I have started with a plan to sell in the future were better organized. That meaning there was a long-term marketing plan. It was to hire and develop staff so that I might be able to evaluate who might buy the business. When I started other businesses without a long-term plan, the future focus was not there.

• Which type of business do you think grows to the size where I could sell it? Of course it was the one’s that had a long-term focus.

Is there a message in this? Yes! Long-term focus and staff development will lead to an on-going business that will be sold to help you fund your retirement.

Doesn’t that make the most sense?