Gary Weigh, principal

Answer the following and then ask yourself if you are prepared for these outcomes.  Are you taking unnecessary risks with the future of the most valuable asset you own.  Business planning could save you a fortune if misfortune strikes.

1. “If you died tomorrow, would your business die with you?”
2. “Would you be happy to allow your family to inherit your business debts?”
3. “Would your spouse be interested or capable of replacing you, after inheriting your share of a business in which he or she had no previous involvement?
4. “How well do you think your spouse and your business partner would fare together in business if you died?  Is it something that either would want?”
5. “If you were the surviving business partner, how would you feel about being locked in business with your deceased business partner’s spouse?”

The fact is that most owners don’t have a ‘plan B’.  There is no protection or fall-back strategy in place because mostly, the owner’s focus is in the ‘now’ and not in the future.  There is also a general lack of education and risk awareness.  So business planning tends to be replaced by eternal optimism that nothing will go wrong.

However, Murphy’s Law states that whatever can go wrong will go wrong.  It is only a matter of when and how severe.  When a business starts to suffer, there remains a continuing obligation on the owner to repay business debt, personal debt, leases, contractual payments and other expenses.

Finding a buyer at short notice can be difficult and receiving fair value for your equity is going to be impossible if the business is steadily losing money.

To find out more about Business Succession and Owner Exit planning:

Contact Gary on 0408 756 531 or email gary@garyweigh.com

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