Articles Guide
Do you have an exit strategy?
Peter FyshFrom the archive
From the archive. Peter wrote this for his original website. Figures, rules and organisations it mentions reflect the market at that time.
One of the biggest issues for planning businesses, particularly given the average age of advisers in Australia is 57, is what will be the exit strategy for the owners.
Research by Business Health reveals that only 46% of planning businesses have a documented, funded succession plan. The benefit of having such a plan are numerous, including providing certainty to the business, staff and clients, as well as improved profitability (Business Health suggests this can be as much as 100%).
Some questions that need to be addressed in developing a succession plan include the following-
- At what stage do you start putting a plan in place?
- Is the Practice “Principal Dependent”?
- Is the business corporatized?
- What value do you place on the business?
- Are you in control of your destiny?
- Are you selling just the clients, or the business as a going concern?
Succession planning is about building a business that will survive beyond its current owners. Do you have your succession plan in place that will achieve this?