Keep a two-week responsibility diary
Record the decisions you make, not just the hours you work. Include pricing exceptions, difficult customer calls, supplier negotiations, technical questions, and staffing issues. The small interruptions are often the tasks nobody else knows you handle.
Separate relationships from procedures
A written process can explain how to create a quote. It cannot, by itself, introduce a new person to a customer who has worked with you for twenty years. Create one list of procedures to document and another of relationships that need a thoughtful introduction.
Name a possible next owner for each task
For every responsibility, write down who could take it on, what they already know, and what training or authority they would need. An empty name is useful information. It highlights a question to resolve rather than hiding it inside a broad handover promise.
Decide what you want your role to be
Consider whether you want a defined period of full involvement, a narrower advisory role, or a clean exit. These are preferences to discuss, not terms this website can promise. Work through the eventual scope, compensation, and obligations with your advisers.
Plan communication deliberately
List the employees, customers, suppliers, and other people who may need information, along with the questions they are likely to ask. Timing and wording should be agreed with the transaction team. Avoid making commitments about future roles or operations that the buyer has not agreed to.
TAKE ONE STEP
Your first deliverable: a responsibility map with people, documentation, and open questions.
This is a general planning resource, not a valuation or personalized legal, tax, or financial advice. Use it to organize a conversation with qualified advisers.
