Succession & Mittelstand
When is the right time for succession?
Most handovers fail not because of the successor, but because of the timing. Wait too long, and you negotiate from weakness instead of from calm.
20 July 2026 · 5 min read
The right time announces itself quietly
Almost no business wakes up one morning facing the question of succession. It announces itself over years — in thoughts pushed aside, in investments postponed, in the realisation that one's own energy is no longer what it was ten years ago.
A good first test is a simple question: would I still invest today as if I had twenty years ahead of me? Those who hesitate usually already have an answer inside — and should start taking it seriously.
Early means negotiating from calm
A handover takes time — for trust, for the handover itself, for keeping the team and the customers. Those who have that time can choose: the right partner, the right form, the right pace.
Those who do not — because illness, age or exhaustion force the decision — negotiate under pressure. And pressure is the worst adviser for the most important decision of an entrepreneurial life.
The first step is not a sale, but a conversation
Recognising the moment commits you to nothing. It only means taking the topic out of the drawer and discussing it with someone who listens before they calculate.
That is exactly the point of the succession page: not a quick deal, but a path that suits the business — with the explicit assurance that the name and the team stay.
The right time is almost always earlier than it feels. Not because it is urgent, but because calm produces better decisions than necessity.