The importance of business succession planning   What happens to a business if its owner or co-owner dies or falls seriously ill? Much will depend on the type of business – sole trader, partnership or limited company – but unless there has been some advance planning, the chances are that there will be disruption, arguments and the strong possibility that all or part of the business will end up in the wrong hands.

So if you’re a business owner, business succession planning and insurance is important. It’s quite simply the process of planning for what you want to happen if you (or your co-owner, if you have one) were to die or fall seriously ill.

The legal position on the death of a business owner will depend on the type of business entity.

When a sole trader dies, their business dies with them, legally speaking. The business’s assets will form part of the sole owner’s estate and pass on to beneficiaries under the terms of their will. If the owner has not made a will, the intestacy rules apply; in effect, the state lays down who the estate should pass to, and normal inheritance tax (IHT) rules apply.

However, the good news is that most trading businesses are not subject to IHT – if you’re unsure about yours, you should certainly take advice. If your business does not enjoy tax relief, the basic requirement is to create a capital sum, preferably outside the estate, in order to minimise IHT.

This could be achieved with the help of a suitable life insurance policy.

A partnership is a business owned by at least two people. Unless there’s some specific provision in the partnership agreement (and very many partnerships have no formal agreement), a partnership ceases when a partner dies. When that happens, the deceased partner’s estate becomes entitled to their share of the business.

This can mean a choice for the surviving partner or partners. They could pay the deceased partner’s estate a sum of money they all agree to be the value of the deceased partner’s share, or carry on in business together with the deceased partner’s spouse or other beneficiary – even if the new partner has little to contribute to the success of the business.

Effective succession planning provides some clarity in the event of death.  A double option agreement ensures the surviving partner(s) has the option to buy the share in the business from the deceased partner’s estate. The deceased partner’s estate can also exercise an option to force the surviving partner to buy. Under an automatic accrual arrangement, the surviving partner(s) inherits the business, but the family receives the proceeds of a life policy.

There may also be a need to insure the lives of all the partners to cover potential liabilities that might arise on their death – perhaps to pay off an overdraft or other creditors.

Limited companies continue after a shareholder’s death, but the basic succession issues are similar to those facing a partnership. The key is to make sure that the shares end up with the surviving shareholders and the deceased shareholder’s family receives some money.

Generally, the deceased shareholder’s beneficiaries will want financial compensation in return for their shares, assuming that they don’t plan to continue in the business; and there may also be the need to pay off creditors on an owner-director’s death.

A double, or cross, option agreement is often used for company shareholder succession planning. If a shareholder dies, their beneficiaries can require the remaining shareholders to buy them out or the remaining shareholders can require the beneficiaries to sell their shares.

To provide the funds, each shareholder should take out an ‘own life’ policy written under a special business trust to benefit the other shareholders.

Of course, it’s not just the death of a business owner that can stop a business. If a business owner suffers a critical illness, such as a heart attack or cancer, it may not be possible to continue in the business either temporarily or permanently.

Expert advice, taken before the event, could have helped in both of these cases. A suitable critical illness insurance policy is probably the best way to provide protection against the financial consequences of having a serious illness. These policies pay a cash lump sum on diagnosis of a specified critical illness or disability.

The policies are normally written in trust for the other business owners, along with an agreement between the business owners about the circumstances in which the share in the business should be transferred.

The death or critical illness of a business owner can lead to unexpected or undesirable consequences for those left behind. Taking the opportunity – well in advance of such an event happening – to plan for such a situation can help crystallise what you want to happen to your business after your death, and to identify how best to ensure that this will actually come about.

A good adviser will start by finding out the most important issues of their business owner clients and, once these have been identified and prioritised, they’ll recommend a suitable way forward.

To receive a complimentary guide covering Wealth Management, Retirement planning or Inheritance Tax planning, produced by St. James’s Place Wealth Management, contact Charlotte Poole-Graham on 07415855071, by email charlotte.poole-graham@sjpp.co.uk or visit www.charlottepoolegraham.co.uk

Local Treasure

Not knowing what to do on the Bank Holiday Sunday, we decided to search out some gardens I had heard mentioned, somewhere in Chepstow. My partner has very good knowledge of Chepstow using the Chepstow road network on a daily basis. Even so it still took us quite a while to search out Wyndcliffe Court Gardens, but when we finally arrived at our chosen destination......wow! It is a local treasure, but in my opinion under promoted and non existent signposting! It really is a hidden gem and the tearoom with tables on the patio is a pure delight to a tearoom fanatic such as myself. 

Having previously discussed tourism on the Tuesday evening at CAP, I felt that Wyndcliffe Court Gardens are just another example of how, we in the Forest and Wye Valley undersell ourselves. For anyone who hasn't visited this local treasure I highly recommend a visit on a bright dry sunny day. It is also a fine example of another local enterprise.

'Ode CAP Thursday Club' 

At six o’clock, the annoying sound
Of an alarm clock crashing to the ground,
I thrash around to mute the notes
And now it’s buried in my Totes!
My wife complains, I say with wit,
“I’ve already put a sock in it!”
It must be Thursday, joy of joys,
As I find the clock and kill the noise,
I’m off to CAP to hear Paul say,
“The best way to start your working day”.
As Paul decides who’ll take the floor,
Cecile the Books bursts through the door;
Her admin systems are the best
But late again she has a rest!
Every member talks in turn
That about their business we might learn;
Sharifa’s bow ties, Laura’s knitting
And Andy B with Ariel fitting.
There’s Grantly Rogers, Pet Supplies
And Tracy Ashford’s legal eyes.
Sharon’s there to sell your house
Megabyte Ben will clean your mouse.
A back passage that is shiny bright?
Dave Leopold will see you right.
Andrea sends you somewhere sunny
Whilst Charlotte P in on the money;
Andy tells of Graphics Shack
And Alison wants her Lemon back.
Photography? Please keep it local,
A point on which she’s very vocal!
No matter what you must insure
We have a Rev who knows the score.
To make the most of staff resources
With Karen Gane you should join forces;
Think you’re dyslexic, please don’t jest,
Kris Ventris Field will run a test.
Then Eric W says out loud,
“I’ll stick your data on a cloud”.
Power of Attorneys, protecting the weak?
Just contact Val if its help you seek
And should you need to advertise
Forest Jo will put you wise.
If your web traffic is to slow,
Andrew Callard’s in the know;
Nick Johnson is the mortgage king
Whist Ian does his social thing.
Want your kids to have a ball?
Paul’s Best Parteez does it all.
Who else is there for goodness sake?
Ah, Sarah Jones, she’ll bake a cake.
I guess that just leaves little me
Your friendly face from Leigh-on-Sea.

On Friday on #Radio4 three women were interviewed who very much wanted to have a family but were not able to. They all spoke candidly and heart rendingly of their journeys from assuming that of course they would become #pregnant to well perhaps later to finally when, as one woman expressed it, the "goddess of oestrogen finally leaves" with the menopause, and there is no chance of pregnancy to the social challenges of not having children or grandchildren in older life. There was even the difficulty of who do you leave your precious things to?

As a young woman one can lose friends with children because it is awkward to be childless; there is little in common when the friend is totally engaged in childcare and the pain of being childless is thrown into sharper comparison.

There seems to be a whole strata of women, largely silent in society, who struggle with this pain and sense of losing something that never was. How to express a grief over the loss of someone who has never been there? How to come to terms with a miscarriage of a much longed for baby or the termination of an ectopic pregnancy, when you thought you were, finally pregnant. Perhaps the general attitude can be rather heartless but well meaning - "I expect something wasn't quite right with it" is often said in the hope that that would be some comfort...

My heart goes out to you in deepest #empathy.

I wonder how many women have to bear this pain in silence all their lives?

At a recent meeting I was asked what #chakras were. My imagination of them is as follows: -

We are essentially energy Beings, with the slowest and densest energy manifesting as our physical bodies. As with all energy systems, ours needs replenishing to negate the effect of the #firstlawofthermodynamics. The more subtle, higher vibrations of the energy associated with our energy field are too much for our physical bodies in their natural state so therefore unavailable. The chakras, seven of them located at key points in the body, act as #transformers enabling the more rapid universal energies, which are connected to and surround our bodies - our #auras - to be utilised by our individual physical systems.

Stress, illness, even difficult emotions may interfere with this transformation and flow of energy, resulting in fatigue, feeling out of balance, even more stressed.

Meditation, walks in a calm natural environment in a wood or by the sea, generally a state of physical and mental #relaxation all facilitate the renewal of energy for our physical bodies to work optimally.

Many complementary therapies like #Reflexology, by inducing a state of relaxation, according to clients feedback, may facilitate the effective flow of energy through the chakras to the the physical body.

What is your imagination/idea of #chakras?

DRIVING WITH CLEAR VISION

Your windscreen is a very important part of your car. It forms the integral strength between the cars bulkhead and the roof.  Sort of a role cage!

When you get a stone chip, usually caused by debris thrown up by either a passing vehicle or an on coming vehicle, the surface tension of the glass has broken.

The glass has now become extremely unstable and can crack at any time,  the  problem is, you don't know when!  

With all chips there is always an impact point, the point where the glass was hit. This can be varying in size, depending on the size and shape of the debris and how the glass was hit. This will also determine on how the final finish will look like.

When a chip is caused, air is introduced in to the damage, this air must be extracted in order to fill the fracture properly.

Once the damage has been repaired properly, it should last for the life time of the glass.

Here are a few important factors to remember

• Always get a stone chip repaired within a couple of days of it happening.
• This will prevent contamination (dirty water and screen wash etc ) making the fracture dirty.
• Never allow a chip to develop in to a crack.
• Never allow a crack to be at two different points at the edge of the screen, this means, effectively, the glass is in two pieces and very dangerous.
• When a chip is caused, try to look ‘through’ the screen and not it especially if the chip is in drivers side. This will help you avoid looking at the chip and being distracting. Get it repaired as soon as possible.
• Never try to repair a chip or fill it with ANY type of glue.

Avoiding burn out

You probably don’t have time to read this, because after all, you’re busy running a business, spinning many plates and thinking of the next job you need to do!  But take a moment to read the blog inspired after having two to three very busy weeks, I found myself in a state of exhaustion with a constant headache and not knowing which way to turn.  I know I’m not alone.  After speaking to business contacts in similar situations, we sole traders and entrepreneurs do everything for our businesses.  Answering emails at all hours of the day or night, solving problems, phone calls to make…..  the list goes on.

Don’t get me wrong – I love being busy but I needed to get a grip on my workload and develop an effective work/life balance to avoid it happening again.  It’s not always that easy to take some time out and even less easy to down tools and have a holiday.

So what are the signs of burn out? 

Exhaustion; could be mental or physical.  Do you find it difficult to get moving in the morning?  Are you making silly mistakes you wouldn’t normally make?  Are you finding it difficult to concentrate or have a lower attention span than normal?  Are you forgetting to do things or find your mind wandering?  Are you struggling to get to sleep or sleep for a short time and find yourself staring at the clock in the early hours? 

Solving burn out 

For me, I sought help with a particular problem I was having that I just couldn’t solve on my own.  It wasn’t for the want of trying, I’d spent days and days trying to sort out how to create a brochure good enough for print; a job I hadn’t done before.  Being a perfectionist, my problem was that I was determined to solve it myself, no matter how long it was going to take.  Alongside this, I had other tasks vying for my attention like little devils sat on my shoulder.  In the end I had to admit defeat and enlist the help of a professional printer. 

With the best will in the world, sometimes we just need to get some expert help to take over and solve our particular problem.  Once I’d handed over the project I knew that it was in capable hands and I could rest easy and concentrate on other things.

Avoiding burn out – top tips

Looking after ourselves has got to be first on our daily task list.  Here are my top tips to avoid burn out.

1.     Turn off technology an hour before bed and allow your body to wind down ready for sleep.  Answering that email can wait until morning.

2.    Eat a healthy diet to give your body energy and resilience to deal with everyday life.

3.    Take some regular exercise to build up stamina and allow your brain to disengage for a short time.

4.    Do something you enjoy.  Factor a little time in your diary to do what you enjoy; whether it’s watching a film, reading a book, or participating in a hobby/sport.

5.    Share the responsibility and get some help.  If you’re stuck with a problem or have too much work, there will be somebody that can help you get through it.

What are your tips?  How do you avoid burn out?

“The best way to begin or end your working day” - Paul James 2014

I never thought social networking is for me but since I joined the Tuesday pm club as the apprentice in mid June I haven't looked back and enjoy every session I attend.

I left the NHS  in May 2013 after 30 years of service as Registered Nurse, leaving at management level with a redundancy type  package to follow my dreams and develop my passion for animals into a pet sitting and dog walking service. It was a huge leap of faith and security from having a regular income to becoming self employed but this is what I wanted to do and I didn't want to look back and have regrets.

Developing the business  has been a huge learning curve  - professionally and personally - with lots of high and low points as they say you take the rough with the smooth. I  find that marketing the business and getting your name out there in the Forest is hard work -I am not a natural business woman with the gift of the gab and find that this aspect very tiring and quite soul destroying at times.I also found that working from home is great but you can also become very isolated and drawn into your own business world -creating a negative impact and not been able to think outside the box.

I had several supportive  conversations with Jo from Forest Traders regarding promoting my business and social networking who encouraged me to try CAP Business club.I was going through a personal bereavement at the time and felt quite low about the business in general and not having enough clients to make it all worthwhile and was on the verge of giving up my dreams.I knew the first year was going to be tough but not this tough .But something inside me said not to give up and now was the time to try social networking - the e mail conversations I had with Jo   were inspirational in how CAP club  had developed and supported her business.

Luckily for me  - Paul had just advertised for an apprentice for the Tuesday club - applied, attended informal informative meeting,got the job and here I am here today writing my second ever blog!!!

I now look forward to each meeting - the group is very friendly,informal and supportive with a wealth of knowledge  and varied experiences from all different types of businesses. 

Even in a short space of time  I feel I have grown professionally and personally,feel more confident,supported and now know that I able to ask for help in growing my business  through the contacts I have made through the club.

Thank you Paul and Tuesday club for accepting  me…..