Business Succession Planning

TeamLMI can help clarify options, reduce stress and ensure a successful transition of your business

While the succession of the business owner includes many of the elements of traditional leadership succession, small and medium sized businesses have a special challenge: planning for the transition of owners is an emotionally and financially challenging process that requires a coordinated effort from all of the business advisors. TeamLMI’s comprehensive approach applies best practices for leadership succession to protect business value and allow business owners retire on their own terms.triple-bottom-line3-small

TeamLMI will help you address the family and emotional, owner legacy, and financial concerns in a comprehensive approach that  encourages action, resolves problems and identifies novel solutions to complex challenges.

Our approach is inclusive and brings together highly knowledgeable and ethical professionals from a variety of disciplines who are dedicated to helping businesses and their owners plan for a smooth transition.  We create synergy between owners’ retirement objectives and the efforts of company management, employees, and outside advisors. Our approach is designed to maximize your company’s value and reduce your risk.

  • Understand objectives for family, legacy and financial needs
  • Identify the drivers of the company’s value
  • Develop leadership and strategic management practices to build value
  • Align the efforts of management, employees and advisors with the owners’ objectives
  • Develop and implement a plan and timetable to reach critical milestones
  • Build value and reduce the risks during the transition process

Why Succession Planning Matters

  • The family business is a valuable asset that can change the lives of your family members for generations.
  • Half of all companies have no succession plan, and the percentage is even higher in small firms or those that have been in business for fewer than twenty years.
  • 72 millions baby boomers are now in the workforce and preparing to retire in the next ten years or less—probably some of your best employees.
  • 84% of owners want to pass on the business to their children, but less than half actually do so.
  • Nearly 12 million family businesses will change hands over the next 10 years and they employ over 60% of working Americans.
  • Only 3 out of 10 family businesses survive the second generation and only 1 in 10 survive the third.
  • Over one-third of family businesses have no procedures for dealing with disputes between family members.
  • Accountants tell you what has happened and what you owe, lawyers protect you from the worst case, but who helps you actually build and protect the value in your business?


The statistics provided above have been derived from a variety of surveys of closely held business owners including: the PricewaterhouseCoopers 2007-2008 survey of nearly 1,500 closely held companies; the 2007 survey of 800 closely held businesses by the University of Connecticut School of Business Administration Survey; and the 2003 Arthur Andersen/Mass Mutual American Family Business Survey.

Strategic Planning 3.0 Whitepaper

Every leader has a sense of purpose — an inner drive to support the success of the mission — whether it is a non-profit, community collaboration, or private firm. A good leader also has a sense of adventure, balanced by sound judgment. To be successful, a leader needs a good “map.” A map is a critical tool to help a business leader find out:

  • Where she is (the business environment)
  • Where she is trying to go (goals and objectives)
  • How best to get there (what action is required)
  • How to avoid dangerous terrain (what market activities might be predicted) 

Without a good map, the firm may be led into a quagmire — or worse...  

Download the full paper