We’re here until we aren’t. So make some plans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The trouble is, you think you have time.” —Buddah

Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Yet, we all too often act as if we have an endless supply of days stretching out ahead.

But what if we didn’t?

Recently, our treasured IT guy, Karl, passed away suddenly. Had we known he was going to pass (how many times have you heard someone say that?), we would’ve done a much better job of planning for just such a terrible event.

We started Sage with Karl’s help. He set up our systems and kept them running smoothly with regular updates and maintenance. When a big malware attack happened out in the world, Karl would email and say, “Not to worry, I did that patch last weekend.”

We could text Karl nearly any time of day or night and he’d be there—reassuring, responsive and fixing our glitches and snafus.

We took Karl’s presence on this earth for granted. He had been there with us from the beginning and it felt like he always would.

Until he wasn’t.

An all-too-common story

The same is true for business owners. We’re here until we aren’t.

There’s this all-too-frequently recurring story in our business. I bet you’ve heard a version of it too:

Dad dies or becomes suddenly critically ill and Mom and/or the “kids” step in to run the business.

If the company had a long successful history, there are often human and capital resources available to fill the void caused by the loss of the owner/founder.

But for many companies, the upheaval and disruption can quickly become overwhelming.

Frequently, with the loss of the founder/owner comes the loss of key relationships, including customers. Operations typically suffer as well while the family and management team divvy up responsibilities and decide who has authority to make decisions.

During this critical transition time, many companies struggle. They experience revenue declines, increased expenses and decreased cash flow. Some never really recover and eventually some kind of ownership transition happens through a sale, merger or a simple wind-down.

Make plans

But of course, it doesn’t need to happen this way, whether we’re business owners or not.

Yes, yes. I know you’re 50 or 60 years young, or you’re actually young, but if you have children, own a business or are responsible for people in a meaningful way, make some plans.

And I’m not talking about wills, end-of-life or funeral plans—although planning for that is a good idea too. I’m talking about plans that deal with all the things you take care of, from the simple day-to-day to selling off major assets and settling debts.

Don’t be the person who died suddenly, leaving dazed employees and family members to rifle through folders, look under desk blotters and search around in drawers trying to piece together your life so they can get on with theirs.

With that in mind, here’s what I did:

• Wrote a letter of direction that provided an overview of our tangible life, including
  • a brief explanation for our estate plans.
  • a detailed list of assets and liabilities, including account numbers and other specific data as appropriate
  • a list of the locations of titles and deeds for vehicles and real property
  • the names and contact information of our attorney and other professionals who handle our assets
  • the location of the safe deposit box key
• Created a master list of all the login names and passwords we use, including PIN numbers, secret-question answers, etc.
• Put the following in a safe deposit box:
  • A duplicate set of estate documents
  • Birth certificates and social security cards

Here’s good news: whatever you do today to plan carefully, thoughtfully and deliberately for the future will put a spring in your step, you’ll feel lighter and liberated having taken the responsibility to get this big job off your to-do list.

And, perhaps most importantly, tell the people in your life how you feel about them and why you appreciate them. I wish I’d stopped Karl more often to make it clear how much we valued him.

But I like to think he knew.

As the CEO and founder of Sage Business Credit, Karen Turnquist helps entrepreneurs build value in their businesses. She’s facilitated more than $2 billion in accounts-receivable financing for emerging businesses and believes there’s no greater reward than seeing fellow entrepreneurs succeed.