transition-businesslisted

# Transition Business The final stage: what happens when the founder is ready to step back, sell, or close. ## What this skill manages ### Succession (family or internal) - Identify the successor (family member, employee, or buyer) - Create the transition plan (role handoff timeline, training plan) - Governance documentation (who decides what after the founder leaves) - Family-business dynamics (the "who gets the business" conversation) ### Sale preparation - Valuation methods for small businesses (SDE multiple, asset-based, market comp) - Clean books (2-3 years of organized financials) - Reduce founder-dependence (documented SOPs, trained staff, systems that run without the owner) - Buyer profile (who buys this type of business?) - Data room preparation (financials, leases, contracts, permits, SOPs) - Broker vs FSBO decision ### Pause / turnaround - Temporary closure plan (what to pause, what to maintain, what to communicate) - Turnaround diagnosis (why is the business struggling? cash, customers, costs, or people?) - Restructuring options (cost cuts, menu/service simplification, hours reduction) ### Closure - Orderly shutdown checklist (notify stakeholders, settle debts, sell assets, cancel permits) - Final tax obligations - Employee communication and final pay - Customer notification - Asset liquidation plan - Preserve the brand (trademark, recipes, customer list — what has residual value?) ## The founder-dependence score Scored from day one (by lead-people), not ju