Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM SEPTEMBER 2018 62 S uccession, retirement, death, an unfortunate accident, physical or mental debilitation, catastrophic event, etc. — these are all potential realities for the business owner. I've had many conversations over the years with old (and young) entrepreneurs, to encourage them to take a good hard look at the future of their companies, and structure their businesses for long- term success. This process usually forces owners to consider these and other scenarios along the way. The sad reality is that many business owners don't have plans, including a lack of a catastrophic natural disaster plan. (Ask Tony and Corrine Caruso of Solar Refrigeration & Appliance, Inc. for their story of business survival through a hurricane.) And yes, I know that even the best-laid plans can turn in a split second and cause devastating havoc on small businesses and their unprepared owners. That is no excuse not to have a plan, especially one with detailed executables in place. Let me cover a few basics and some big ideas (not necessarily listed in order of importance): 1) Make sure you have two people who can sign checks on your corporate account to ensure the bills get paid. 2) Write out a will. Even something scratched on the back of a napkin, dated and signed by you and a witness is better than nothing! 3) Make a list of the most important papers surrounding your business and life, put them in a secure, easily accessible place, and give the list to a few people close to you. 4) Simplify your record keeping so that a private investigator doesn't have to be hired to figure out your "special" system. 5) Make sure you are adequately insured for legitimate real-life liability, life, health, and auto issues. Make your business saleable. I know it sounds simple, but believe me, it takes sound planning to make it a reality! Use Quick-Books software in an industry-accepted layout for your financial papers (a profit and loss statement and balance sheet are the bare essentials for any legitimate business). Make sure you are properly and adequately accounting for standard expenses (health insurance benefits, and rent even if you are working out of your home). Know your own cost of doing business. Don't be blind to your financial condition, especially your expenses. Get rid of your old inventory. No one wants it, and trust me, NO ONE will pay for it as part of a sale. Inactive inventory bloats your balance sheet and takes up space on your shelves. Don't shrink your service area and/or the product mix you service unless you knowingly intend to run the business into the ground, doing it part-time, and eventually reducing its value to $0. Keep your rates current. I've watched many older service company owners stop raising their rates for years, literally killing the saleable value to any potential buyer. Thinking big and coming up with big ideas usually simply requires committing a designated amount of time to imagine what you would like to do with your business over the next one, three, five, and 10+ years. Many business owners get caught up on the hamster wheel of busy-ness and can't get away to think small, much less big. And yes, some people succeed in spite of their lack of planning, but it is rare. Planning requires thinking, and thinking requires time. Time, for most of us, is our most valued and yet wasted resource. Here are a few big ideas: 1. Create golden handcuffs for your key employees. 2. Review each team member and train, retrain, or replace anyone if there is an issue with personality, skill, morale, attention to detail, attendance, etc. 3. Hire or outsource time-consuming jobs (such as call taking or data entry) so you can concentrate on growing and/or refining your business. 4. Stop wasting your precious time dealing with insignificant issues. Give those responsibilities to someone else on your team. 5. Meet with someone who can help you think big. There's not enough space in this article to cover all these issues, but I hope you are inspired to make a plan! THE AGING BUSINESS OWNER What will you do with your business? S E R V I C E D E P A R T M E N T Dean Landers, Landers Appliance RO

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