#7 Avoid These Common Mistakes In Your Succession Planning | Zach Scardino

* There are ~2.3m small businesses owned by boomers who want to retire soon

* Over 60% of small businesses have NO formal succession plan

* Of businesses offered for sale, 80% never find a buyer

These stats give you an idea of what we are discussing today.

My guest today is a former colleague from my days working as a Field Agent (Insurance Agent) with the Knights of Columbus, Zach Scardino. Together, he and his brother Cody are running Scardino Strategic Partners. They help business owners with a variety of financial planning needs. However, a core item they spend their time on is succession planning and transition planning.

Zach has a wealth of knowledge in this space given how many situations they see on a weekly basis. So, I wanted to bring him on the pod to discuss some of the following topics:

* How to hand down your business to a family member (and the typical pitfalls that occur)

* What key actions you can take to increase the value of your small business if you’er prepping for sale

* If you’d like to buy a small business, what to keep in mind

* What you should do if you’re expecting to inherit a family business in the future

We discuss these items and a LOT more.

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Timestamps / Chapters:

* 00:00 Cold Open, Intro to Guest, Disclaimer

* 06:04 The Importance of Succession Planning

* 06:40 Types of Business Valuations

* 09:49 Building Intrinsic Value in a Business

* 12:51 How to Prepare for a Business Transition

* 15:37 Navigating Family Business Succession

* 18:47 Common Pitfalls in Business Transition

* 21:38 Using Advisors in Business Succession

* 25:48 Avoid Tax Surprises and Financial Burdens

* 26:37 The Art of Buying Businesses

* 29:42 Don’t Tie Yourself to ONE Deal

* 31:08 Balancing Fairness and Legacy in Business Acquisitions

* 35:43 Charitable Considerations in Business Sales

* 38:49 Creative Ways to Honor Faith in Business Transitions

* 39:14 When to Seek Professional Planning Help

* 44:51 What Nukes a Deal

* 48:39 Opportunities for Catholic Entrepreneurs

* 53:57 Join Our Paid Community

SSP Website: https://www.scardinostrategic.com/

Core Lesson:

To grow in your business, seek external support and advice.

There are many things I could note as takeaways from this episode, but I think this is the most important thing. Why? Because if you heard the stories Zach shared, soo many of the mistakes come down to not seeking counsel.

Accidentally being out of compliance. Not having generally acceptable practices. Failure to disclose certain things. Lack of knowledge in how to structure a deal. It goes on.

If you run a small business, seek guidance from others who have gone further than you. They will have so much value to share. Learn from the mistakes of others.

As you can hear in today’s episode, failure to ask for help could mean trying to sell an unsellable business. That’s especially dire if that was your retirement plan.

Do the right thing - set aside your pride - and ask for help.

PS: Need help in your business? Is it time to hire a virtual assistant?

Consider hiring a Catholic Virtual Assistant through ParacleteVA. Reach out to me or Karen with what you’re looking for (silas@erthtechtalent.com or karen@erthtechtalent.com).

You pay $500 when you hire, and $500 if you’re still happy with the hire 30 days in.

This is a pilot we are running to help Catholic VAs in the Philipines find employment with more ethical companies. Help change a life today.

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