Why all businesses need to plan for succession

Anna Stubbs • July 6, 2023

Hypothetically speaking, if you were hit by a bus tomorrow, how seamless and pain free would the transition be - both for your business and those who rely on it?

Succession Planning isn’t just about retirement. In an unforeseen event would the operation, management and value of your business be compromised?

It isn’t just about securing your future.

Succession Planning is still an extremely valuable exercise if you’re planning to retire in 20 years, or if you’ve already lined up your successor. Should something unforeseen happen to you, this planning will downgrade a major crisis to a significant, but manageable, event.

By having the conversations now and documenting clear intentions, you could save yourself (and your stakeholders and family) a lot of pain should an unexpected event occur.

It’s also about efficiency.

Planning for unexpected scenarios forces you to assess who does what, why, and how they do it best:

  • Is the right person performing the task?
  • Is their process the best way of doing the job?
  • If multiple people perform the task are they doing so consistently?
  • Have we defined and documented the best process?
  • Should this task be the responsibility of a single team member?

It’s about providing a safety net for your team. Documenting the key business processes in your company enables you to devise the most efficient system for each task. Having a clear procedure to follow is helpful when a team member is absent, but most importantly when it comes time to transfer this knowledge to a new team member, manager or owner.

A robust and effective Succession Plan takes three to five years from initial planning to implementation.

Having said that, any plan is better than no plan. Generally, the longer you have to execute your plan, the bigger the opportunity you have to maximise the value of your business and therefore the capital you extract on exiting.

A Succession Plan is not something you write and leave to rot in a dusty drawer. Succession Planning is an important part of your business strategy that requires regular attention and ongoing development!

Involving key team members in aspects of planning will engage and empower them as the journey begins.

Want help your developing your Succession Plan? Get in touch!

The Man on the Moon Principle

By Anna Stubbs • October 22, 2025
In 1961, President John F Kennedy famously announced his goal of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth before the decade was out. As we know, in July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to walk on the moon, and were brought back to Earth safely, achieving JFK’s goal.  At a time when most people hadn’t even been on an aeroplane, landing on the moon would’ve felt unachievable and overwhelming. However, such a massive goal united people with a purpose; the story goes that even a cleaner mopping the floor at the space station said his job was to help put a man on the moon. So, how did they make the goal achievable? They broke it down into milestones, with each one taking them closer and closer to achieving their ultimate goal. The first milestone was to achieve lift off. So, they set about resolving this challenge. The next milestone was to reach orbit, so they had a team working on this milestone. Then, they had to reach the moon’s atmosphere, land safely on the moon, take off from the moon, enter Earth’s atmosphere and land safely back down to Earth. You can see how breaking the goal down into milestones gave everyone a more achievable objective to focus on which was less overwhelming. Those milestones were then broken down into the actions which needed to be completed. Each action was essentially a small step towards reaching the ultimate goal.

5 signs you’re undercharging

By Anna Stubbs • October 22, 2025
Are you undercharging for your services? It can be hard to tell, particularly if you’re in a niche industry or you’re a contractor. Costs have been rising, so it may be time to rethink your own pricing.

Understanding your revenue drivers

By Anna Stubbs • October 22, 2025
For your business to make money, you need to generate revenue. You produce revenue through your usual business activity, by making sales, getting your invoices paid, or taking cash from paying customers. So, the better you are at selling your products/services and bringing money into the business, the higher your revenue levels will be. But what actually drives these revenue levels? And how do you get in control of these drivers?