How do I pass my bait shop’s supplier contacts to a new owner?
List every supplier, what they provide, how orders are placed and who your contact is. Then introduce the new owner in person or by phone, ideally during a first order. Include informal sources such as local diggers and anglers, since those relationships rarely have paperwork.
Bait is perishable and often local, so your suppliers are as important as your customers. Make a sheet for each one: what they supply, when, how it is paid for, and what goes wrong when weather turns. Add the minimum order, delivery habits and any favours that exist only because of your history together.
Next, think about what is informal. Worm pickers, minnow trappers and nearby farms may work on a handshake. Tell the buyer which relationships depend on you personally, and be careful not to promise terms that the supplier has not agreed to. Ask each one whether they are willing to keep supplying a new owner.
Plan the introductions. A joint call or a shared first order does more than a list of phone numbers. Offer to be available for a short period after the sale to smooth over late deliveries or misunderstandings. Finally, mention any back-up suppliers you use, since a buyer who knows the alternatives will worry less about a single source failing. Close the handover by asking each supplier to confirm, in an email you both keep, that they know who the new owner is and how to reach them.
Key takeaways
- Write a one-page profile for each supplier, including informal and seasonal sources.
- Introduce the new owner personally and place a first order together if you can.
- Name your back-up suppliers so the buyer is not tied to a single source.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat is succession planning?
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to diversify your supply chain
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