Back on December 5th I reported that Canadian Accountants Say Two-Thirds SME Business Owners Retire Next Decade: I Say Buy a Business!.

I purchased their book on succession planning and got it just before the holidays. I have yet to finish reading the entire book yet can say that overall they have done a good job.

As I thought about the process of succession planning or developing an exit strategy and my experience working with entrepreneurs creating a succession plan is a seven (7) step process.

1) Preparation: understanding your options, what is my business worth, and what do you want?

2) Create a Succession Plan

3) How to Choose, Recruit, or Develop a Successor

4) Coaching, Mentoring Your Successor

5) Trial Exit, extended vacation to test the ability of the successor to actually run the business.

6) Successors Performance Review and Final Coaching

7) Final Exit and Departure

The book does a good job of covering Step 2 however as far as the other steps along the way you are on your own. That said, the book was not designed to cover the entire process.

If you are looking for a book to learn more about Succession Planning it is a good start.