Having a contingency plan for your business may have never crossed your mind before... but it's more important to have than you may think! Julie's sitting down with the master of planning herself, Mary Beth Simón, to talk about what you need a contingency plan for and what items you should include in yours.

Mary Beth guides business owners to create contingency plans that prepare them and their teams for extended vacations or the unexpected, so the business can continue to run successfully in their absence. She founded Niche Partnership Consulting after seeing the turmoil that a lack of contingency planning can cause when a dear friend developed terminal cancer. Mary Beth is a national conference speaker, continuous learner and loves helping business owners find peace of mind since retiring from a 30+ year career at Vanguard. In her free time, she's active in her local business community and loves being mom to her rescue dogs.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• What can hold a practice owner back when planning for the unexpected?
  • Emotions can sometimes get in the way of looking at the bigger picture of why you're preparing for the unexpected
  • It's very common to feel overwhelmed when tackling a contingency plan
• Why have a contingency plan in place?
  • If you have any goals for the business to continue beyond your participation, it's important to put certain preparations in place to ensure the next owner will have a path to follow to keep the business successful
  • If you don't plan on the business continuing without you, it's important to have a plan to either sell or close out the business
• What are some items included in a business contingency plan?
  • Updated business bank account and credit card statements
  • Written narrative for how the owner manages the bank accounts/credit cards for the business
  • Business Associate Agreements
  • Incorporation documents, licenses, certifications, real estate documents, and investment documents
  • Inventory of memberships, subscriptions, and softwares utilized by the business
  • Online password management system
  • Business continuance playbook - identifies owner's responsibilities for daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly operations (SOPs)

LINKS & RESOURCES
GreenOak Accounting - www.GreenOakAccounting.com
Therapy For Your Money Podcast - www.TherapyForYourMoney.com
Profit First for Therapists - www.ProfitFirstForTherapists.com
Profit First Academy - www.ProfitFirstForTherapists.com/Academy
Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder
FREE Online Course for Business Owner SOPs