Neglecting to Prepare This Plan Can Cause Problems For Your Business In The Future

Business LoungeNovember 6, 2019

Being prepared for the unexpected is not really a new concept for small business owners. This includes having a plan B for the business’ management in case something happens to the owner themselves. However, not everyone has something like this in place leading to the possibility of numerous difficulties in the future.

The Succession Plan

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An estimated 72% of business owners say they have no succession plan in place regarding the transfer of leadership

A good succession plan would help in securing the future of the enterprise that an entrepreneur has spent time, money and energy building. It would also help in assuring a business’ investors and clients that they could continue to trust the product or services that the company sells. Without a well-defined document detailing the succession in leadership might leave a company open to risk in case of another unforeseen disaster.

The case of the New Jersey-based company BioAegis Therapeutics serves as a fantastic example of how a business’ owner and employees can deal with the tragic passing or incapacitation of their leader.

The company lost its co-founder Thomas Stossel after he died while working out at a local gym. The news came as a shock to the employees of the 10-person workplace given how fit and seemingly healthy Stossel was despite being 78 years old. What more, his passing happened around the same time when BioAegis Therapeutics was about to start raising funds for clinical trials.

Preparing For The Storm

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According to surveys, about 4 out of 10 entrepreneurs say that they feel that the future is still too far for them to spend resources on mapping out a plan

Fortunately, the company was resilient, according to COO Valerie Ceva. Not too long after being shocked by the passing of Stossel, the management team was already making changes to their strategies and communication plans. A week later, numerous individuals have already risen to the challenge and have helped in taking on the responsibilities left behind by their late boss.

Not many small businesses are as prepared as BioAegis Therapeutics, though. This fact is attributed to the tendency of most business owners to be too focused on supervising their company’s operations from day-to-day.

Laying the Groundwork

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Encouraging employees to work together will also enable them to solve the coming challenges in a more creative way.

Based on the health treatment company’s experience, here are some things entrepreneurs can do today to ensure that their business would fare well into the future. First on the list is the cross-training of employees.

This would lead to a team where no one individual has the sole knowledge or responsibility for operating processes. Another tip is to hold weekly meetings with employees to ensure that everyone is up to date with the things happening.

It’s also important that the ‘silo mentality‘ is broken down. Instead, a culture of collaboration, support and teamwork should be promoted in the workplace. In the end, this would make workers more invested in the success of the company while learning to work more effectively with their colleagues.