I recently lost a good friend. She was a single “mompreneur” of a growing family business. I was devastated by this loss. It also made me wonder what would happen to my business and what, if any, responsibilities my family would be left with when I die. We entrepreneurs are so passionate about our businesses that we focus on the “grind” without looking ahead and we often neglect to think about such things.
The bottom line is it goes back to planning. According to Nasir Pasha, Esq. “Fewer than 30% of small business owners have a succession plan.” Nasir gives three steps to take in What Happens When a Business Owner Dies? Three Steps to Cheat Death. These steps are simple. One of the steps is to “determine a business structure that suits you for tax and liability purposes”. This reminded me of one of my older posts entitled Think Before You Leap when I reminded business owners to think more about their business operations and functions over just the idea of starting a business.
LegalZoom has some very good information on Estate Planning for Small Business Owners. The author, Tiffany Knight, breaks down things that never occurred to me such as minimizing taxes, buy-sell agreements, life insurance, and options for sole proprietors and family run businesses.
How would you answer these questions?
- Who knows where your important paperwork is?
- Would you want your business to close or continue on after you?
- If the latter, who will take over?
- What does your state require in the event of your death?
These are just a few things to consider. I definitely need to work on my succession plans. What about you?
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This is dedicated to Jackie and Ian. I love you both.
YardGirl Creations 
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