Don’t wait to set up a succession plan. Now is the time to determine what you want next for your distribution business by conducting a strategic alternatives analysis.
IRCG Managing Partner Mike Marks recently discussed distributors’ options in a presentation at the Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association’s annual convention.
He outlined four options for distributor owner-operators:
- Turn business over to a blood relative, keeping ownership in the family. But don’t confuse the transition of ownership with the transition of management. Know whether your son or daughter is too young or inexperienced to run the company.
- Bring in non-family executive management, keeping ownership in the family. Some distributors do this when their children are not yet ready to run the company, or they don’t have children to pass the business to.
- Sell the business to an outsider, creating a liquidity event. If this is your choice, determine what you need to do with your business now to position it for the greatest return on your time, money and energy.
- Take no decisive action until you have a personal crisis that forces others to decide. This constitutes waiting until it’s too late.
Read more about what to keep in mind when you’re considering your succession alternatives in this blog post from Marks on mdm.com: 3 Exit Strategies for Distributors
Interested in having Marks speak at your next event? Learn more here.
