Succession planning
Succession is the transfer of two things: leadership and ownership. They do not have to go to the same person, and they rarely happen at the same time. A plan decides who will run the business, who will own it, how the current owner gets paid and what happens if the plan is interrupted. We help BC families work through those questions early.
What you leave with
You have a written succession plan that names the successor, sets the timeline, funds the transfer and has been agreed by everyone affected.
Who it is for
- Owners with children or long-serving managers who may take over
- Families who need a neutral facilitator for a difficult conversation
- Owners who want a plan in place in case of illness or death
What we deliver
- A valuation so the transfer price and any family equalisation start from a real number
- Successor assessment: readiness, gaps and a development plan
- Transfer options framed for your lawyer and CPA: gift, sale, gradual buy-in, buyout or trust
- A funding plan: how the exiting owner is paid and how the successor finances it
- Governance and a contingency plan for sudden incapacity
How it runs
01Conversations
We meet the owner, then the successors and key family members, separately and together.
02Valuation and options
We value the business and lay out the transfer routes with their financial and family implications.
03Plan
We write the plan: successor, timeline, transfer mechanism, funding, governance and contingency.
04Implement
We support the successor's development, coordinate your lawyer and CPA and review the plan on a schedule.
Engagement and fees
Starts with a 90-minute Strategy Session at $499 and a $3,500 valuation. Facilitation and ongoing advisory are quoted as a retainer once we understand the family and the business. Every engagement is scoped after a call and confirmed in writing. See consultations and fees.
Leadership first, ownership second
The successor who will run the business needs years of preparation, not months. They need to make decisions while the owner is still there to catch mistakes, build their own relationships with customers, suppliers and the bank and earn the respect of staff who remember them as the owner's kid or a junior hire. Plans that hand over shares before the successor is ready create a company nobody is running. Plans that hand over leadership and keep all the ownership create a manager with no stake.
Fairness in family businesses
Equal is not always fair. A child who has worked in the business for years and a sibling who has not should not necessarily receive identical shares, and the one who takes over should not be burdened with buying out siblings at a price the business cannot support. These conversations are hard, which is why they get postponed until a crisis forces them. A neutral facilitator and a real valuation make them possible. Your lawyer and CPA handle wills, trusts, shareholder agreements and tax.
When there is no successor
Many owners discover that nobody in the family wants the business and no manager is ready to buy it. That is not a failure. It means the plan becomes an exit plan: build the company to run without you, then sell to a third party or to a management team with outside financing. The earlier you know this, the more time you have to make the business sellable. We help you reach that conclusion honestly and then move straight into exit planning and, when the time comes, the sale.
Industries where we run this most
Questions about this service
When should succession planning start?
As soon as you can imagine not being there, and well before you want to leave. A successor takes years to develop, and ownership transfers often happen in stages for tax and financing reasons.
Can a manager who is not family take over?
Yes, and it is common. A management buyout lets long-serving staff acquire the business, usually with a combination of their own money, bank financing and a vendor take-back from you. We structure it so the business can carry the debt.
Do you give tax or legal advice on the transfer?
No. Tax, trusts, wills and shareholder agreements belong with your CPA and lawyer, and we work alongside them. We bring the valuation, the transition plan and the facilitation that gets the family to a decision.
What if my children disagree?
Then the plan has to address the disagreement rather than paper over it. We meet each person separately first, then bring the family together with a real valuation and clear options.
Start with a confidential conversation.
Tell Ali where the business is and what you want to happen next. You leave with a straight read on value, timing and the two or three moves that matter, whether or not we work together.