SUCCESSION PLANNING WORKSHOP OFFERED FOR SMALL BUSINESS

Business owners urged to prepare early

ARDA, the Acadia Centre for Social and Business Entrepreneurship (ACSBE) and the StFX Enterprise Development Centre (XEDC) have partnered to bring “Beyond Your Business: A Step-by-Step Succession Planning Workshop” to Antigonish to help maximize the potential of local businesses, both personally and financially.

This one-day workshop is taking place Tuesday, June 22nd, 7:30am - 2:30pm at the Charles V. Keating Millennium Centre, StFX University; Conference Room A. A breakfast and light lunch will be served. For a cost of $79 + tax participants will, in addition to the one-day workshop, have access to three webinars on planning for retirement, succession leadership, and communicating a succession plan. Also included is a half day wrap-up session in September at no extra cost.

Developed to provide business owners with the knowledge, skills, tools, and resources needed to effectively manage their succession planning, the workshop will also prepare business owners for transition and opportunities they will inevitably face.

“The Beyond Your Business Step-by-Step Succession Planning Program provides invaluable resources and support to help entrepreneurs effectively transfer ownership of their businesses to the next generation. Our Government’s investment in the program helps to ensure the continued progress and prosperity of Atlantic Canada’s small and medium-sized businesses, which are the backbone of our region’s economy,” said the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of National Revenue, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Atlantic Gateway.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses, only one third (35 per cent) of small and medium enterprise (SME) owners are planning for their future succession and among those who have a succession plan, the majority are informal, unwritten plans, which have not been shared with the intended successor. Furthermore, 41 per cent of SME’s indicate their intention to exit their businesses within the next five years and their main reason for exiting a business is related to retirement.

“It has become evident that there is a growing need for business succession planning not only in Antigonish, but across the province,” says Alana Paon, ARDA’s Business Retention and Expansion Account Executive. “We have a number of business owners who are looking to retire in the next five to ten years. This presents an issue regarding exit and turnover. It also presents an opportunity for new ownership in our region. We have partnered with ACSBE and XEDC so as to provide effective tools and information to assist business owners who are looking at selling, retiring, or even buying a business. Ideally, a business owner should be planning for such a transition well in advance,” says Paon.

Succession planning for small business is a comprehensive strategy for transitioning a business from a current owner to new owner. All businesses, including family owned enterprises, require a sound succession plan to ensure a beneficial transfer of ownership. Because of the significant tax implications, a prearranged restructuring plan makes certain that the baton will be passed to the successors with minimal disruption to the business.

For more information or to register visit http://www.acsbe.com, or contact Alana Paon at 902.863.3330 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Helen Abel at 1.877.232.2723 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).