If something happens to you, what happens to your business?

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#1

I’m a bootstrapper and just went full time in May. Since then my wife has been worried that something might happen to me and she wouldn’t know what to do with the business.

She wouldn’t want to take over running it, but she’d like to make sure my customers get taken care of, that the business keeps it value, and that there is a smooth transition to the new owner. For less serious situations, she wants a plan in place so that if I’m in the hospital for a month the business is still there when I get back.

My dad has experience as a disaster/contingency planning consultant. He game me some advice. After some further conversation, it seemed like this might be this might be a good fit for a productized consulting business.

Check out his offering at http://www.HavenHoltPlanning.com

We’d love any feedback you have about the landing page or the business itself.

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#2

Important topic! Unfortunately your link does not work for me…

#3

That is really weird. I just double checked and it works for me.

Do you get an error message? What browser are you using?

#4

What you propose sounds quite similar in function to a “Standard Operating Procedures” doc.

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#5

Do you have an SOP document for your business?

I’ve always thought it sounded really important, but never actually took the time to make one.

#6

This service is something I’d pay for, but just as a one-time fee. I wouldn’t sign up for a subscription.

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#7

I have a SOP wiki, which is all well and good, but the real problem for me is finding someone trustworthy who is willing and able to step in and keep things ticking over for me when I’m ill, away on holiday etc.

I often think I can’t be the only person in this situation - I’d like to see a match-making service for this sort of thing, for freelancers and bootstrappers, probably built around a social graph recommendation system. A you-scratch-my-back thing, where you’re both on call for each other, or you can form small groups of people who will help each other, so there’s some redundancy and good skill mix.

Someone could probably build a SaaS up around it - free to match-make, then a monthly fee to use a wiki with changelog, availability calendars, support tickets, timekeeping, invoicing etc.

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#8

Google Chrome, ERR_NAME_RESOLUTION_FAILED

I’m from Germany if this helps…

#9

When I Google that error message, it looks like that is an error caused by the client computer, not the server.

Here’s an alternate url that should work if you want to see the page: http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.havenholtplanning.com/index.html.

#10

I agree with @radiac - this is a documentation issue, but it’s even more of a people issue. The couple of bootstrappers that I can think of who have a real solution in place (among them @robwalling), have a standing agreement with a trusted friend or business associate, who (with proper documentation) can step in and run the business while things are sorted out. Finding the right person to back you up is the real challenge.

Usable, accessible, current SOP documentation is a must – it helps other people learn & makes it easier for you to delegate. It’s easier for other people to step in and help with all areas of the business, and it’s crucial if you decide to sell or transfer the business. It doesn’t have to be a complex software tool – just start with something simple that everyone can access (e.g., shared google doc).