What Succession is — capturing what is in the founder's head

Succession is for any business owner thinking about — or planning for — handing off the company. Could be a sale, a transfer to a family member, a partner buyout, or a multi-year leadership transition.

Tabs:
• **Memory** — structured Q&A capturing why the business is the way it is.
• **Customers** — the relationship map: who they are, why they stay, what they need.
• **Plan** — the transition checklist (people, processes, paperwork, dates).
• **Valuation** — multiple valuation approaches with low/mid/high estimates.

The core insight: a business is worth more when the institutional knowledge can be transferred — when the next operator can answer the questions "why do we use this supplier?", "why does this customer call you personally?", "what's the unwritten rule?". Most small-business sales fall through or undervalue because that context is locked in the founder's head.

Succession is the place to externalize it. You don't need to know who the buyer is yet. You start capturing now so that when the buyer shows up, you have an asset, not just a ledger.