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Key Takeaways Document your business transition plan to prevent confusion and stress for survivors.
Identify strategic partners early to preserve legacy and ensure long-term success.
Clear communication with all stakeholders mitigates conflict and preserves relationships after death.
I was recently engaged by the estate of a founder to assist in finding a new owner for their business after the founder died. There were a lot of valuable business lessons that came out of this process that I wanted to share with you.
Not for your estate survivors after you die, but instead for you before you die, so you don’t repeat the same mistakes of this other entrepreneur who failed to properly lay out a clear legacy plan in the event of his death, leaving the survivors scrambling looking for answers in the wake of his death.
The situation
The business here was a solo-owner charitable foundation that runs a big annual event, an event that was run by the founder for decades. The founder died with no clear plan for what to do with his business in the event of his death, especially with nobody in his family wanting to pick up the reins.
But everyone associated with the event wanted the event to survive for years to come, especially to honor the legacy of the founder. The problem was that we couldn’t get into the head of the founder to ask him who he would have liked to take over for him.
Instead, we had to come up with candidates on our own. And that left a big void for us to fill.
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