Title: Competency Assessment: (CU4 M2) Passing it On
Course: SkillsCom BA 260 15.0 > Section: Credit Unit 4 Module 2 - Potential Exit Strategies from Entrepreneurial Ventures

There are 3 parts to this Competency Assessment: "Firm 1: Succession Issues", "Firm 2: Selling", and "In Conclusion". Be sure to create headings in your MSWord document for each part.

The succession of the business owner either by family, employees, or by selling to new owners are critical concerns of most entrepreneurs. Perform a web search related to the management succession and continuity of specific firms. You might find the following online publications useful: Business Week, U.S. News & World Report, Inc., Fortune Small Business, Entrepreneur, and Fast Company. Choose articles about two different companies (Firm 1 and Firm 2) and answer the following questions:

Firm 1: Succession issues (you only need to answer these questions for one of the companies)

1. What business is this company in?

2. What issues did the owner(s) have regarding his or her succession?

3. What was the owner’s final decision on how to handle the succession?

4. What lessons can be learned from this owner’s experience?

Firm 2: Selling a Business (You only need to answer these questions for the other company.)

1. What business is this company in?

2. Which of the steps of the selling process were followed in the article?  Make sure to indicate where the steps appeared in article (the terminology in out text might not be used in the article.) Which  steps were  not present?

3. How did the owner or buyer address any obstacles?

4. What lessons can be learned from this experience?

In Conclusion:

Based on what you have learned from these two cases, what recommendations would you give to an entrepreneur who is in the process of developing a succession plan? Be as helpful as possible.