TIMING

There are four factors that affect the timing of succession planning: company factors, environmental factors, operational structure factors, and personal factors.

• Company factors: These involve things like: how dependent is your company on you, how long will it take to transition from you to new management, how ready for sale is your company (is it structured to facilitate a sale), and how has the company been performing. A company with a short track record or one with flat sales and profits will be much harder to sell than one with a history of steadily increasing sales and profits.
   
• Environmental factors: Trying to sell your company in the middle of a recession or in the middle of a cyclical downturn of your business will likely slow down the sales process.
   
• Operational structuring: Having a company where your management is secure, customers are tied down, you have a current up-to-date website, the books and records are current and well organized and with a flexible operating structure (e.g. without long-term commitments) will facilitate and speed the sales process.
   
• Personal factors: Timing can be negatively affected if you are mentally unprepared to sell, or if family members are not ready to take over, or if income tax and estate planning is inadequate or deficient.