So you finally got over the emotional hurdles and are now really ready to do a succession plan. Almost by definition this is a once-in-a-lifetime event and, as such, you have no experience doing one. There are a few things to keep in mind as you’re creating your succession plan that will help ensure that it is effective and productive.
First, a succession plan is a natural extension of good business principles. If you look past the family and emotional issues, this is exactly what you would do …

One of the ultimate goals of a business owner is to maximize the value of their business. There may be no need or desire to sell right now and ultimately that day will come. There are a myriad of factors that determine the value of a business, here I’ll discuss just four that you can begin improving now.
Build Your Management Team
A good management team is essential for operations and growth and also has a big impact on the value of a company. Anyone who is …

As strange as it sounds, the more important you are to the daily running of your business the less it‘s worth. When you started your business you had to do everything, that’s the way of a startup. Now that you’ve grown quite a bit your activities may actually be diminishing the potential of your company. As the founder and CEO, the buck stops with you and in some respects you are the keystone of the organization. Remember though, when you remove the keystone from an arch, the whole thing collapses. …

The Human Resources department is not a direct revenue producer, does not represent a particular business unit, nor is it a highly specialized staff function. It is mostly viewed as a ‘necessary evil’ resulting from a need to comply with ever increasing regulations, plus keep track of such details as attendance, benefits, and payroll. Because of this, HR is rarely seen as having an impact on the bottom line except maybe as a cost center.
If you buy into the ‘our people are our biggest asset’ philosophy – hard …