Talk focuses on selling family business
Fri Mar 28, 2008

OSHAWA -- Selling a family business may be a difficult decision but could be the key to wealth and freedom.

Someone who has been there and done that, Garth Stephanson, will share his experience at a special presentation partly sponsored by the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce.

As keynote speaker, Mr. Stephanson will speak about his experience selling the family business at the April 16 event.

Mr. Stephanson, a retired chartered accountant, is a coach and mentor who sold his family business in Belleville in 2004 after 32 years as CEO.

According to a 2006 survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, even though almost two-thirds of small business owners plan to exit their businesses over the next 10 years, only 10 per cent have a formal plan in place to sell, transfer or wind down their operations.

Slightly more than one-third have an informal plant on how to prepare for the transition. But more than half have no plan at all. As many owners have no other retirement fund beyond the business itself, the risks are huge.

In family-owned businesses, lack of planning is one of the main reasons why 70 per cent of intergenerational transfers do not survive into the second generation and 90 per cent do not survive into the third.

The event takes place from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the Holiday Inn of Oshawa. It's located at 1011 Bloor St. E. Pre-registration is required. It costs $45 and includes a copy of Deciding to Sell Your Business: The Key to Wealth and Freedom, by Ned Minor, a $25 value. Call 905-728-1683.