Do You Have an Exit Plan?

I recently attended a breakfast networking meeting and our guest speaker talked about the lessons she and her husband has learned from owning a business for 29 years. One of the lessons was to make sure you had an Exit Plan.

I had really never thought about an exit plan in the way she mentioned. Our speaker was an integral part of their business: managing the employees, the accounting, inventory, etc. Her husband ran the hands-on end of things. He knew transmissions, she knew people and books. They worked well together.

After a fluke accident which left her incapacitated for weeks, the husband, who had no idea how to run the business, or their household, nearly lost everything.

This small story within her inspiring presentation made me realize a few things about my own life.

· My husband and I have wills – but our children do not know they are locked in a safe, let alone how to open the safe. (Note: they do now.)
· I run my own business – but my husband, nor anyone else, knows how to read my accounts receivables/payables. My accountant could figure it out, if he knew where to find the file.
· My husband has never touched online banking, which is how I handle all our personal bills.
· No one else could understand my “work in progress” files.

I’ve heard it all before – write down where all your bank accounts and other investments are…I’ve done it in the past but never kept it up to date.

Three days after hearing this presentation, I rushed to my friend’s house…her daughter called me in a panic, “something was wrong with Mom.” When I arrived, my friend was completely unresponsive, her daughter could not find her health card, and she was rushed to the hospital. She will be fine…but again, it home – this young girl needed to know things. Where was the exit plan?

Take a look at your own situation…do the people in your life know how to handle things in the event that something should happen to you?