Could your business survive without you?

May 5, 2022 | Practice News

In the opinion of the staff in the SOS Bookkeeping office, a good question worth asking yourself as a business owner is, would your business still thrive, or would it suffer a catastrophic failure if you suddenly stepped away? 

 

It’s tough to remove yourself from the day-to-day operations when you’re passionate and busy. However sudden accidents, illnesses, or family emergencies can – and will – happen and you need to be able to step back knowing your systems are robust enough to cope.

 

For your business to work for you, you need to make yourself replaceable. Large corporations have plans in place to mitigate what’s known as ‘Key Person Risk’. But when you run a small entrepreneurial venture, who is the backup?

 

A fully formed exit strategy takes all business stakeholders, finances and operations into account and details all actions necessary to sell or close. Strong plans recognise the true value of a business and provide a foundation for future goals and new directions.

 

Here are some top tips from the SOS Bookkeeping team:

 

  1. No one is irreplaceable – Challenge yourself to step away for a week. Which systems fall over? Which procedures get left hanging? Which duties get ignored? Go cold turkey as a test case for the time you may have to leave your business in the hands of others.
  2. Embrace innovation – Get systems that are simple, streamlined, effective and can be used by multiple key team members. Make sure anyone can log in and see exactly what’s needed for what reason at any time.
  3. Recognise the value you’re creating – A business that doesn’t rely on its owner is worth a lot more when the time comes to sell or pass the reins to someone else.

 

 

If you would like to discuss your business needs. Call SOS Bookkeeping on 01 849 5131 or email shane@sosbookkeeping.ie For the latest business/practice news, taxation/financial resources and our Newsletter, visit https://sosbookkeeping.ie/