Did you know that a large number of family businesses do not survive beyond the retirement of their founding owners??

Two main reasons are almost always at play, either individually or combined:

• the departure was not planned properly or well enough; or
• the departure was too abrupt for the business and employees, who suddenly lose their former lender's wealth of experience and know-how.

The first risk is that your business will not survive beyond your departure, that it will falter and fail because you will no longer be there to breathe life into it and make it flourish, because you will no longer be at the helm to lead the way and guarantee its success.

The first challenge your business will face after your departure is its very survival. The two resulting challenges are clear. If you want your business to live on and prosper after your departure, proper planning is needed so that your wealth of expertise and know-how is transferred to the business.

This means preparing a Transfer Plan and a Knowledge Transfer Plan. This issue and the associated challenges focus on your business's future, but what of your own personal future, your life after the business?

The first personal challenge you will face after leaving your business is, of course, securing your financial future and ensuring the proper financial management of the proceeds from the sale of your business. But it may also be necessary to set things straight with your family related to the financial proceeds of the business.

That means preparing an Asset Management Plan (which will outline how taxes, investments and estate planning are covered and will be managed after your departure).

Your second personal challenge will be determining the type of life you want to lead after leaving the business.

• Practise another profession?
• Act as a mentor to other entrepreneurs or your own successor?
• Get involved in your community's social life by sitting on one or more boards of directors?
• Finally go on the annual vacation you always dreamed about but never had the time to take?

Many options are open to you. Some have to be prepared in advance. Being prepared means defining the personal objectives you want to set for your life after the business well in advance.