When doing something really matters...

According to Seth Godin's blog, laziness just isn't what it used to be.  It was once about unwillingness to do a physical task.  Today he says it is more about intellectual or emotional laziness which is based in fear.

Recently, we attended two funerals.  The first, was for the father of a friend, who died 9 ½ weeks after being diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer.  Just three months earlier, we had enjoyed dinner with him.  He had been talking about selling his boat, buying a bigger one and was making plans for his next European vacation.  The second was for a 55 year old client who fell, hit his head in his home office and died a few days later.   He and I had spoken only a few months earlier to discuss exit and estate planning issues but had yet to move forward with any new planning.

Our Exit Planning process forces (or, at least gently nudges) people to think about what happens to their business, and ultimately their family and their estate if they don't make it to the finish line and exit the business according to plan.  We call this planning for the unplanned exit.

But it's natural for people to resist this portion of the planning.  The pat answers we hear are, "I've got that all taken care of," and "My CPA handles that for me."  But with a little more digging, we often find this isn't true.  We explain that avoiding these issues can leave big problems for someone else to clean up. The dialog goes like this:

"What kind of problems?" the client asks.

Litigation between your spouse and your partner...Huge legal fees...

"That would never happen."  Denial...

Trust me.  Ask your lawyer...He'll tell you horror stories

"What else?" 

Loss in value of the business...Called loans...Possible liquidation...Unnecessary taxes...

"Nah, we're okay.  We've got it under control..."

Intellectual and emotional laziness

 are powerful de-motivators.

The long term solution is Exit Planning including proper contingency and estate planning.  But there are things any business owner can do right now as a stop-gap in the event of what one of our clients calls the "hit by a truck" scenario.

Set aside an hour or two one afternoon.  Don't answer the phone.  Don't check emails.   Think about what you would need your family to know about your business if you couldn't come home tonight:

Ø  Where are the keys to your workplace,  as well as your passwords to access protected information

Ø  Who are your trusted advisors CPA, attorneys, banker

Ø  Who should your spouse rely on for advice and guidance-create a list of those most trusted advisors who should be on an "advisory board"

Ø  Who are your trusted employees and what is the likelihood of them remaining with the business until it can be sold? 

Ø  Where are any important papers-buy/sell agreement, estate documents, life insurance policies, 401(k) or profit sharing statements

Ø  Who are competitors you would and would not like your estate to consider when planning the sale of the business

These are the basics which you need to get down on paper.  There are many more, but only you know what would be valuable information to your spouse.  Do it NOW.  For the longer term, think about preparing your Exit Plan.  And in the meantime, don't walk in front of any trucks!