The future is already here!
I’ve been banging the drum for ten years – get your business ready for transition or sale before the rush. Boomers, who represent the majority of business owners, are getting ready to retire and a pent up surge is about to erupt. While there will be lots of choice for buyers, many owners will discover that what they are trying to sell is of little or no interest to others.
So if you haven’t heeded the warnings from your most trusted advisors to prepare for business transition – and the majority haven’t – it’s time to pay attention.
Why don’t more business owners act? Is it denial, procrastination, stubbornness or foolishness? Over the years, I have come to the realization that it may be our optimistic nature that keeps us from moving forward. In spite of the odds, the facts, and the trends, we don’t believe something that bad could happen to us. For the most part, if you are an entrepreneur, optimism has served you well. Until now…
The cold hard reality is that, like the structures that collapsed before the wrath of recent hurricanes, you could lose everything. Failure to successfully transition your business could destroy all the value you’ve built and also leave you (or your heirs) an expensive mess to clean up – with fewer years in which to recover. And unlike natural disasters, there’s no insurance to cover business failure.
On the other hand, there is the potential for a good news story: Business Owner Anticipates Storm and Moves to High Ground. Open for business after the hurricane, that company is positioned to help supply the massive surge in purchases required to rebuild.
The future of business transitions is predetermined: as sure as the earth is round, millions of businesses will change hands over the next few years. That’s indisputable. Your future is still to be determined. It’s in your hands. Begin the process of transitioning yourself and your business. Make the choices that best serve you, your family and your employees before that choice is taken away from you. The future is now.