Entrepreneurship – ‘If it isn’t broke, break it’

http://www.ifb.org.uk/ How do owners come to terms with selling a successful business? At a dinner co-hosted by Mike Southon, FT entrepreneurship correspondent and Beermat Entrepreneur co-author, the issue was debated by a group of enterprising business people. One of these explained how he was still struggling to come to terms with the void in his professional life following the successful sale of his business a few years ago.

When any family firm faces the same situation how does the family cope with the emotional stresses of deciding a sale, possibly after generations of ownership? Is the family prepared to sell the best business they will possibly ever own? When the family name is above the door the shadow of all who have toiled to build the business looms over their shoulders.

In any family business there can also be a magic glue present –shared values that bind the family owners together. All these factors can create a compelling set of reasons why deciding upon a sale may prove to be the hardest decision the family have ever faced.

Perhaps enterprising families however, should heed the motto of the dinner’s co-host Guy Rigby, an entrepreneurship mentor whose motto in his new book From Vision to Exit is, ‘If it isn’t broke, break it’. Successful family business owners heed this good advice constantly by challenging the status quo, whether they are considering exiting or not. Regularly they ask themselves - why is the family in business together?

Following Rigby’s advice, even if a sale is not on the cards, it is vital in today's hyper-competititve markets to ensure that there is a culture in your firm that embraces change. Finally when struggling to reach consensus on a big decision, such as selling the business, you will need experienced independent directors on your board to offer dispassionate advice.