Having recently left a 16 year business partnership, I commenced to read The Partnership Charter and How To Run Your Business So You Can Leave It In Style (see the Good Reads section for info on the first, and use this link for info on the second:  http://www.exitplanning.com/commerce/productzoom.asp?NUMBER=1).  Emotionally, this was an interesting exercise to say the least.  I believe that it could be best described as doing an autopsy on the entire process.  One could argue that it was pretty soon to do this but autopsies are best done sooner rather than later.  One could also easily make the case that these would have been good reading several years ago but the information wasn't there or I didn't know enough to know what I needed when I needed what I needed!

 

The Partnership Charter could be described as essential for anyone contemplating a partnership or in a partnership.  Most of us don't do as much planning for our partnerships as we could and then we don't work as diligently as we could or should to maintain these partnerships.  Are you Paying Attention to Your Partnership?

 

How To... or something similar should be read by every business owner whether they're contemplating an exit or not.  Many of the best strategies for exit take several years or more to put into place.  As How To... states, "every owner will sooner or later leave their business."  One compelling thing to consider is simply the point of diversification, a basic investment strategy that reduces risk.  For business owners, as their businesses grow, they typically have ever larger percentages of their financial assets in one holding, their business.  Over time, the amount of concentration in this asset can easily dwarf their other holdings and thus leave them poorly diversified and at risk.  Have you done yoru work in planning the details fo when and how you hope to leave your business?