Growth And Acquisition Are Part Of Succession Planning

I am excited about the surge of multi-unit franchisees looking to grow. We had many conversations with multi-unit franchisees looking to grow at the recent Multi-Unit Franchising Conference. Why is this so exciting for succession planners? Well, business growth is one of the core foundations for succession planning. 

Here are some of the key items we took away from conversations we had with multi-unit owners included:

I thought succession planning was all about retiring or exiting the business. Therefore how is business growth remotely important to succession planning?

As a multi-unit franchisee owner, you have various growth options, internally, externally, and naturally from your entrepreneurial drive. Business growth and acquisition are critical components of successful succession planning, or as we like to call it, planning for the future of your business. Additionally, if you are a family business, the family must be involved and support the growth of the family and business family. So don’t fall victim to the thinking that succession planning is equal to retirement or completely exiting the business.

The best defense is a good offense.  Your competitors are looking at opportunities to grow, so they will eventually begin to take market share if you don’t have your head up. So the earlier you engage in succession planning, the better you are setting your business, family, and future financial wealth up for success.

If I am seriously considering acquisition as part of my growth strategy, do I need to, or should I involve my family and key employees?

When looking to acquire and grow your business you need to ensure that your family, key leaders, and business are also ready for acquisition.  To set your business up for success, match the goals of acquisition and or long-term business succession strategy to the goals of your organization by asking key questions such as the type, size, and location of the potential acquisition, along with the capital requirement.

What things should I consider in my planning if looking to grow through acquisition?

When planning for growth and the future, you are “future planning,” and believe it or not, it means you are engaging in succession planning. When looking to grow through acquisition, there are three critical elements to ensure succession success. Time. People. Money. When deciding to grow through acquisition, you must invest time to study the brand, the market, the culture, due diligence, closing, and time to operate the business. You also need the money to fund it and the people to run it because you cannot do it yourself.

Growth is one of the core foundations of succession planning. Succession planning is not exit planning, even though it is assumed it focuses on leaving or retiring from the business. Succession planning is actually planning that provides strategies to overcome the possible, probable, and potential issues that impact your vision. Exit planning only considers the process of the existing owner leaving the business through sale or transfer.  Succession planning transforms your vision into reality.

Kendall Rawls knows and understands the challenges that impact the success of an entrepreneurial owned business. Her unique perspective comes not only from her educational background but, more importantly, from her experience as a second-generation family member employee of The Rawls Group - Business Succession Planners. For more information, visit www.rawlsgroup.com or email info@rawlsgroup.com.