You need to be there.

“As an independent, the ability to be unique—whether it’s through product or service—in your market, that’s your strength. Going back to these Shows gets you out of your little trading area and gives you a look at what else is out there. I like to go there to re-energize, find new products and find potential new suppliers to complement our existing line.”

Where To Start

Jon Irwin is TIMBER MART’s vice president of member services. Irwin says there are some specific steps for preparing a business for a hand-over, including setting up a team to help carry out the plan and developing a learning plan for your identified successor.

This usually means that the business owner ultimately has to stay financially involved in the running of the business and that the transfer of ownership will occur over a longer period of time than if it were a straightforward sale to a third party. Further complicating the situation may be the fact

In the 15 years he has been helping dealers navigate the process, Ryan says there’s one thing above all else he advises business owners—to seek out whatever help is available to you.

“Trying to navigate this on your own, I’m not saying it’s impossible, but there are a lot of pitfalls,” says Ryan. “Dealing with people like PIB and our business partners—people who have experience—you can perhaps navigate round some of those potholes.”

“The learning plan for a successor should have measurable goals, clear objectives, reasonable timelines, as well as specific people identified and held accountable for taking actions towards it,” says Irwin.

He adds it’s important to revisit the plan at least once a year. “The plan should be monitored by the business’s successionplanning team and evaluated on an ongoing basis to ensure it’s on track for when it’s time to pass the torch.”

Ryan’s team refers to the plan as a living document. Dealers should view it as a framework for moving forward, but it’s not written in stone. Should anything come up, you should be prepared to pivot or even completely restructure the plan.

Dollars And Sense

Ryan emphasizes that the best way to ensure a smooth succession is to have a profitable business, whether you’re looking to pass it along to a family member, employee or a third party. But there are some specific issues that need to be addressed when looking at selling to a younger relative.

“The reality is that with most family successions, the family member has long desired to run the business,” says Ryan. “But they’re often short on one important component: money.” that often the business is passed down to one child, but in many cases, there are multiple children in the family. Ryan says these situations call for very honest conversations.

“All the children in the family need to feel they are being treated fairly—and that doesn’t always mean equally. But mom and dad have to sit down with all the members of the family to articulate their plans openly,” says Ryan. “In our experience, when that is done, questions are asked, issues are dealt with and it allows for family harmony.”

“I always say you need to be able to sit down at Thanksgiving dinner together afterwards.”

Letting Go Of Control

In an industry of entrepreneurs and independent business owners, it’s natural that retailers find themselves tying up a lot of their identity and sense of self in their business. Thinking of retirement and their own mortality can trigger a flood of emotions for many people.

“It’s all very well to have planned everything regarding logical, analytical and financial aspects, but there always comes a time when emotion enters the picture and upsets our ideas, convictions and sometimes even the succession plan as a whole,” says Desrosiers. “This is understandable.”

The best way to make this transition as easy as possible on all parties, Irwin says, is to gradually cede control over a predetermined period. If you begin to pass along increasingly important responsibilities to your successor, when the time comes to step back completely, you’ll be confident in their knowledge and experience.

“This comfort of knowing that their business can and will function without them allows them to visualize the transition and ease into it so that when the day comes, it’s not a stressful experience, but a comfortable one,” says Irwin.