Free Business Succession Diagnostic
Your business runs on you. What happens the day it has to run without you?
Most owners know who they would like to hand over to. Very few have checked whether the business, the numbers and the family are ready for it. This free business succession diagnostic scores your family business across eight areas in 33 questions, and shows you where a handover would break first.
Succession readiness score
ExampleWhere the business still leans on you
Example only: a second-generation transport company where the founder still signs off every quote. Your results will be different.
From the advisory team behind 150+ client businesses.
Hark Coffee
Hark Coffee
What our clients have achieved
You can’t hand over what only exists in your head.
Every key customer relationship, every pricing call and every supplier deal runs through you. That is how the business got here. It is also why most handovers stall.
The successor can’t take over what was never written down. The numbers have never been modelled for the next owner. And your own retirement still depends on you turning up on Monday. Leave it long enough and the timing gets decided for you, by your health, the bank or the estate.
I’ll start handing over next year.
Nobody else knows how the pricing works.
The business is my super.
My son’s keen. I just haven’t asked him properly.
Your free report
What you’ll know in eight minutes
Four answers most owners don’t have yet, worked out from your own responses.
-
How ready the business is to hand over
A score out of 100 and one of four bands, from At Risk to Succession Ready, so you know exactly where you are starting from.
-
The gaps that can stop a handover cold
Wills, powers of attorney, family outside the business and owner income: flagged as soon as your answers show a risk.
-
Where the business still depends on you
All eight areas ranked lowest first, with plain-English actions for the ones that need work.
-
One move for the next 30 days
A single practical first step, so succession becomes something you are doing, not something on the list.
See your results on screen straight away, then download the full PDF to share with your partner, successor or adviser.
Three steps, about eight minutes
-
Tell us about the business
Your contact details, business name, location and industry. Add the people involved if you want them named on the report.
-
Answer 33 questions
Eight short sections. Answer honestly, not hopefully. “Not sure” is a valid answer, and it tells you something too.
-
Get your score and plan
Your score, red flags and priorities appear on screen with a PDF to keep. Want a second opinion? Book a free clarity call.
Why do it now
What you walk away with
No sales pitch and no obligation. Your results appear instantly and the PDF is yours to keep. If you want help making sense of them, an advisor can walk you through it.
- Know exactly how much of the business still runs through you, measured across the eight areas that decide a handover.
- Spot the risks you can’t see from the inside, before a bank, a buyer or a health scare finds them.
- Walk away with a PDF report that sets out your priorities and the first step to take.
Where does your business sit?
Your score places you in one of four bands.
No succession plan that could be relied on if something happened this year.
Thinking has started, but nothing exists a bank, adviser or successor could rely on.
Foundations in place, with gaps big enough to undo the work.
Strong shape. The main risk is a plan that quietly goes out of date.
The eight areas we score
33 questions that cover the whole handover.
Family alignment & communication
4 questionsWhether the people involved know the plan, and the hard topics have actually been raised.
The exiting owners
3 questionsWhether you and any co-owner agree on the next ten years, and are ready to let go of the wheel.
Successor readiness
4 questionsWhether there is a clear successor who wants it and already makes real decisions with real money.
Fairness to family outside the business
3 questionsWhether family members outside the business are looked after without draining the business.
Business reality & viability
5 questionsWhether the business makes enough to fund the handover, and could run for months without you.
Owner security & later life
4 questionsWhether your income after the handover is independent of business profit.
Structure, ownership & legal
6 questionsWhether wills, powers of attorney, ownership structure, the buy-sell agreement and tax all line up.
Transition pathway & process
4 questionsWhether there is a written, dated plan, with management and ownership handed over as separate steps.
The longer the business depends on you, the fewer options you’ll have.
Eight minutes now shows you where a handover would break, while you still have time to fix it.
Prefer to talk it through? See how we help with business succession planning