Colliton

are involved in the business, there should be discussion in advance regarding buy-sell agreements that often are funded effectively by life insurance. If you have children, family, or current partners who can effectively run the business, the time to discuss their involvement is now. If your children and family are not interested, you may need, even if reluctantly, to look for another party to buy.

Sometimes your business is primarily good will based on your unique skills and talents. Sometimes it has great value or perceived value even if you are not around.

In an interesting short on-line article, “How Do Strategic CEO’s (and Owners) Work Themselves Out of a Job?,” which can be found at www.thiswayoutgroup.com, Kerri Salls makes the point this way:

“When you want to sell your business, you want to command the highest possible value. For your business to merit the highest possible valuation, you must prove to the business appraiser and your prospective buyer that the value is in your business, not in you the owner…”

Salls goes on to note that the skills involved in divesting yourself of your business are very different from the skills involved in startup. During startup, the business owner does anything necessary himself or herself to make it work. Here is what Salls recommended you do if you want to sell.

“…1. Create systems for everything. If you have systems, make sure they are documented.

2. Delegate everything. When your business can operate day-in and dayout without your handson oversight, you have a money making machine that will attract buyers… This one change takes time…Identify the three things you absolutely love to do in your business and the three things only you can do. Delegate the rest…

3. Develop a succession plan throughout the company… 4. Plan for scalability….” Scalability means the potential buyer sees vastly increased revenues without increased investment of time and money. If you have it all there, you might be ready. If not, you have a roadmap. Then, know where you want to go after. Many business owners start over with a new one. If so, the term is “serial entrepreneur.” If there is no covenant not to compete or if you are involved in a new field altogether, you can start again. Janet Colliton, Esq. is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and limits her practice to elder law, retirement and estate planning, Medicaid, Medicare, life care and special needs at 790 East Market St., Suite 250, West Chester, Pa., 19382, 610-4366674, colliton@collitonlaw. com. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and, with Jeffrey Jones, CSA, cofounder of Life Transition Services LLC, a service for families with long term care needs. Tune in on Wednesdays at 4 p.m. to radio WCHE 1520, “50+ Planning Ahead,” with Janet Colliton, Colliton Elder Law Associates, and Phil McFadden, Home Instead Senior Care.