# Transition Business

> Prepare and execute succession, owner exit, sale, merger, pause, turnaround, or orderly closure. Use when thinking about what happens after the founder steps back.

- Skill: `simongonzalezdc/transition-business` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add simongonzalezdc/transition-business`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/simongonzalezdc/transition-business/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: simongonzalezdc (https://skillmd.com/u/simongonzalezdc)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/simongonzalezdc/transition-business

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# Transition Business

The final stage: what happens when the founder is ready to step back, sell, or close.

## What this skill manages

### Succession (family or internal)
- Identify the successor (family member, employee, or buyer)
- Create the transition plan (role handoff timeline, training plan)
- Governance documentation (who decides what after the founder leaves)
- Family-business dynamics (the "who gets the business" conversation)

### Sale preparation
- Valuation methods for small businesses (SDE multiple, asset-based, market comp)
- Clean books (2-3 years of organized financials)
- Reduce founder-dependence (documented SOPs, trained staff, systems that run without the owner)
- Buyer profile (who buys this type of business?)
- Data room preparation (financials, leases, contracts, permits, SOPs)
- Broker vs FSBO decision

### Pause / turnaround
- Temporary closure plan (what to pause, what to maintain, what to communicate)
- Turnaround diagnosis (why is the business struggling? cash, customers, costs, or people?)
- Restructuring options (cost cuts, menu/service simplification, hours reduction)

### Closure
- Orderly shutdown checklist (notify stakeholders, settle debts, sell assets, cancel permits)
- Final tax obligations
- Employee communication and final pay
- Customer notification
- Asset liquidation plan
- Preserve the brand (trademark, recipes, customer list — what has residual value?)

## The founder-dependence score
Scored from day one (by lead-people), not just at exit:
- 0 = business runs completely without the founder (sellable)
- 1-3 = key decisions need the founder (need a GM first)
- 4-7 = daily operations need the founder (need SOPs + staff)
- 8-10 = the founder IS the business (not sellable, not scalable)

## Key outputs
- Succession plan (if continuing)
- Sale data room (if selling)
- Closure checklist (if stopping)
- Founder-dependence score + reduction plan