{"id":4611,"date":"2023-05-30T15:32:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T22:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/?p=4611"},"modified":"2025-10-21T14:23:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T21:23:49","slug":"exiting-your-business-finding-the-right-successor-for-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/blog\/exiting-your-business-finding-the-right-successor-for-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Exiting Your Business: Finding The Right Successor For Your Business"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"co-flex_row co-flex_row__blue co-flex_row__long-form-text co-flex_row__next_row__blog-contributors\" >\n\t<div class=\"co-flex_row--row co-row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"co-long_form\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-long_form--block co-long_form--block__nomedia prow items-start \">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-long_form--text pcol-md:12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-long_form--content\"><h2>Exiting Your Business: Finding The Right Successor For Your Business<\/h2>\n<p>Putting a succession plan in place helps ensure the future stability of your business when you either step aside (so the business is well run in your absence) or want to sell (leading to a smooth transfer of ownership and leadership plus job security for your staff).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Finding Your Successor<\/h3>\n<p>Possibly you\u2019ve already decided who will succeed you. A family member, a key employee, or another shareholder are common examples of ideal successors as they understand the business and are familiar with the business, customers, and suppliers.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t have anyone lined up, start by drawing up a list of all the possible candidates, whether they\u2019re likely to take over or not. Then, look at each person on the list and consider to what extent he or she has shown:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Business common sense<\/li>\n<li>A passion for the business<\/li>\n<li>Business management skills, including financial and human resources management<\/li>\n<li>Leadership skills<\/li>\n<li>Strong relationships with other employees, customers, and suppliers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If one or more people are internal candidates, give them a particular task that involves skills such as introducing a new product line or marketing to a new customer segment.\u00a0 After evaluating each person\u2019s qualities, you\u2019ll have a clearer idea of who your preferred successor could be, or a shortlist of two or three people.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Using External Sources<\/h3>\n<p>If you\u2019re struggling to find a person inside your business then similar to selling your business, look at using your external networks to find a suitable person. This can include your accountant, bank manager, industry contacts, other small business owners, chambers of commerce, etc. Cast your net as wide as you can.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Train Your Successor<\/h3>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve identified your successor and they\u2019ve agreed to take over at some stage, it\u2019s important to train them thoroughly to gain the necessary skills, expertise, and experience to take over the leadership of the business.<\/p>\n<p>Start by asking your successor to work in each area of your business for a certain period of time, so that they know exactly what\u2019s involved with the:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Financial management<\/li>\n<li>Sales and marketing<\/li>\n<li>Customer services and other operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Have the potential successor ghost you for a time, matching your tasks and time each day. Much of your expertise will be learned from experience and may not be written down. Now is the time to document all your activities to be able to leave a \u2018manual\u2019 of your leadership style and decisions.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Decide on Your Future Position<\/h3>\n<p>Think about your role in the business, if any, you will have after you\u2019ve left to provide ongoing support for your successor such as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The time you can commit each week<\/li>\n<li>If it\u2019s an advisory role only or part-time working<\/li>\n<li>The period of time you\u2019ll be available<\/li>\n<li>The effect your presence is likely to have on your successor and staff.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s important to address these points in advance and include them in your succession plan.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Determine When You\u2019ll Step Aside<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s a wise idea to fix a date when you\u2019ll transfer the day-to-day running of the business to your successor.<\/p>\n<p>Setting a date gives you time to prepare for retirement, your successor time to prepare to take over, and your other staff time to anticipate a change in leadership.<\/p>\n<p>As the date approaches, it\u2019s appropriate to gradually become less involved in the business\u2019s management as your successor gradually takes over the leadership role.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Plan an Exit Strategy<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s important to plan your exit strategy from the business taking into account all of the tax, investment, and legal implications of transferring ownership. For example, the transfer of ownership may be subject to tax if your successor buys the business for less than its \u2018fair market value.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Seek the advice of your accountant, lawyer, and other advisers, such as business valuation experts and investment professionals for any tax or legal implications.<\/p>\n<p>Decide how you\u2019ll transfer ownership of your business:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you are a sole proprietor, it should be relatively easy to transfer the business to another person (in effect selling the assets and possibly charging an amount for goodwill)<\/li>\n<li>If you\u2019re in a partnership then it\u2019s more difficult, as you are in effect terminating the existing partnership and expecting the buyer of your portion of the partnership to continue<\/li>\n<li>A corporation should also be easier by selling your shares in the company to the new owner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Summary<\/h3>\n<p>Effective succession planning gives you the reassurance that your business will be in good hands after you\u2019ve retired. However, it\u2019s rarely an easy task. Begin your succession plans as early as possible and seek as much advice as you need in order to make the transition as smooth as possible.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"co-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/business-loans\/#businesscontactform\">BUSINESS LENDING \u00bb<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0<a class=\"co-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/business-services\/#businessservicescontact\">BUSINESS BANKING SERVICES \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"co-flex_row co-flex_row__last co-flex_row__blog-contributors\" >\n\t<div class=\"co-flex_row--row co-row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"co-blog_contributors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-blog_contributor\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-blog_contributor--img_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/files\/WhiteClaire_scu-43_300x300.jpg\" class=\"co-blog_contributor--img\" alt=\"Claire White VP Business Banking Services\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/files\/WhiteClaire_scu-43_300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/files\/WhiteClaire_scu-43_300x300-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/files\/WhiteClaire_scu-43_300x300-75x75.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/div>\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-blog_contributor--content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"co-blog_contributor--name\">Claire White<\/h3><div class=\"co-blog_contributor--title\">VP Business Deposit Services<\/div><div class=\"co-blog_contributor--bio text-component\"><p>Claire White is the Vice President of Business Deposit Services at Sound Credit Union. She leads a team of Business Services Officers and Specialists who work closely with local businesses to provide personalized support and smart banking solutions. Claire is a Certified Cannabis Banking Professional (CBP) and helps ensure Sound&#8217;s cannabis banking program meets the highest standards of compliance and care. She also oversees the credit union&#8217;s\u00a0treasury management program, helping business members access secure, efficient tools to manage their money with confidence. Claire is passionate about making business banking simple, accessible, and tailored to the unique needs of each member.<\/p>\n<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-blog_contributor--social\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>Connect<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/linkedin.com\/in\/clairepwhite\" class=\"co-social_share--link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" aria-label=\"LinkedIn\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"icon-svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Icon LinkedIn\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-content\/themes\/soundcu-theme\/images\/sprite-icons.svg#linkedin\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Effective succession planning gives you the reassurance that your business will be in good hands after you\u2019ve retired. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/blog\/exiting-your-business-finding-the-right-successor-for-your-business\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":11052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4611","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-commercial"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4611"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17256,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4611\/revisions\/17256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.soundcu.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}