Geared Up Issue 4 2017 | Page 46

Plan Your Legacy With a Succession Plan Your Franchisor Will Approve “ E 44 veryone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you’re there.” Ray Bradbury, the author of the American classic “Fahrenheit 451,” could just as easily have included “business” in his list of items to leave behind. Indeed, passing a business on from generation to generation could be the guarantee of safeguarding one’s legacy well beyond their involvement in a business they started. Yet, surprisingly, most business owners fail to appreciate the reality that one day they may not want to run their business anymore or, worse, can’t. Why? My guess (as a business owner) is that, like me, t