Did you plan for "What If?"

by Rick White, President 180BIZ                                                             (Estimated Read Time 3 minutes)

Today I'm talking about “What if.” When we talk about secession, a lot of times we're thinking about when we sell the business. Secession should be a plan you have in place in case you have to step away from the business for a while.

I wasn’t prepared if something happened to me.

I'm going to tell you something. This hit me square in the eyes back in 2021. I hurt my back and was unable to walk. I was on so much oxycodone that I couldn't put words together to form a sentence. If it wasn't for Tom, Eric, and Lucas stepping in, we might not be here today. I wasn't prepared. I wasn't prepared to step away. I wasn't prepared if something was to happen to me.

We don’t have an “S” stamped on our chest.

I know we all think we have an S stamped on our chest. We think we can get through anything. We're going to do it no matter what. And we feel like it's going to be like this forever. Well, I'm here to tell you that it's not going to be here forever. Stuff will happen. I’ll give you some examples.

• You get sick and you go away for a while. What happens?
• Your spouse or significant other gets sick. What happens?
• One of your kids gets sick. What happens?
• You and your spouse are struggling. You realize that you’re spending way too much time at the shop. You need to devote more time at home to work on your marriage. What happens?

You need a business model so you can step away at any moment.

You need a business model so that you can step away. Most shop owners set up their businesses where they are the center hub with spoke going out to each employee. And when you take the hub out, the wheel collapses. That is not healthy and it's not fun for anyone. It is not a great way to run a business. It's draining, it's mind-numbing, and it's frustrating. You need a business model where you can get away.

A succession plan doesn’t mean you are selling.

A succession plan doesn't necessarily mean you are selling your business. It means that you can step away from the business and the business will thrive. Not just survive, but thrive.

What can you do to get your business less dependent on you?

Why isn't that happening? Too many of you have the wrong focus. You’re focused on getting to the end of the day, the end of the week, the end of the month, or the end of the year. You need to look at a bigger scheme. You can't get stuck in a business that represents just a paycheck to you. Ask yourself this question. What do I need to put in place this week to start getting my business less dependent on me? What if you had to step away from the business for six months? Start thinking that through now. If you put a plan in place now, you’ll sleep better at night.

Please share this message. Check out our Shop Owners’ Round Table on the second Thursday of each month at 7PM Eastern Time.  Our Pocket Business Genius has over 70 recorded webinars and one live webinar each month.  I’d love to see you there.

God bless. stay safe, have some fun, and go make some money.

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