Today you are fine, but later today you might not be. You could suffer severe injuries in a car crash, be shot dead by a stranger or suffer another unexpected event that means someone else needs to run your business.
Consider what that would mean for others. Even if you have no partner and family to support; your employees could lose their source of income, customers could lose a valued product or service provider and so on. Even if you have a small business, some people depend on it. Especially if you do have a family to support, it’s wise to consider how you can keep the business running without you.
The business can also help look after you if you by providing income if you are seriously ill or injured and cannot be present much yourself. Here are some things to consider so that can happen.
Is it clear who will take charge?
People fighting over who is next in command will only hamper progress. It does not necessarily need to be one person. It could be a team of people, but you will need to specify the balance of power, since they won’t always agree with each other.
Do they have the knowledge they need?
KFC wouldn’t be the successful chain it is today if Colonel Sanders took his recipe to the grave. Certain information needs sharing, or at least storing where someone you trust can access it if required.
Do they have the access they need?
There will be bills to pay and papers to sign. Someone needs to have the legal authority to do these things when you cannot.
Setting all this up takes time, so it is best to start succession planning now. Having sound legal guidance is a good place to begin.