One of the areas of small business coaching where we’ve specialized over the past two decades plus has to do with transitioning the business from one generation to the next.  As you might imagine, over that time we’ve come across just about every scenario you can imagine.  The one that people seem to fear most is when the current business owner dies while still running the business.  So the question for today is, “What happens when you’re not ready?”

One of our clients, who was also a prior guest on Dirty Secrets of Small Business, Lisa Holly, is joining the show today to discuss this very topic.  As you might recall from Lisa’s first appearance on the show, her and her brother Woody took over the family moving and storage business after their mom died in a car accident in November 2006.  Nearly 17 years to the date of their mom’s passing, I also lost my business partner and co-host of Dirty Secrets of Small Business, Jack Mencini.

We thought it would be fitting to have one of our past clients who loves Jack almost as much as I do to share her thoughts on this topic.  Plus, I have a little different perspective on this topic since Jack’s passing.  Some of the things we shared during today’s show include:

Lisa talked today about her “discovery” year of 2007 where she learned about a lot of things and people including herself.  Like other things related to business transitions, there is no one right way to do things.  So if you still have time, you can start working on a transition plan today.  If it’s already too late, then hopefully some of our stories and insights from today’s show have helped.  Whatever you do, don’t go it alone and make sure you tap into your “village” of people for help.