Many small business owners in rural Quebec are reaching retirement age, and many local businesses are changing hands or looking for a successor. Sometimes this becomes visible when a "for sale" sign goes up; sometimes when the Facebook page goes quiet.
Ownership changes are not new. What stands out, in our observation, is how many new owners work out the handover as they go, with a notary for the legal side and no one at all for the rest.
This article presents the plan we would give a new owner on their first day. It is not legal or tax advice; a notary and an accountant are needed for those aspects. It covers the practical side, which determines whether customers stay.
Who should be informed before the keys change hands, and when?
Staff, suppliers and regular customers, as early as possible. People find out regardless. In a small town they find out quickly, and often inaccurately. The best approach is to inform them first.
Staff
Staff should hear the news from the owner, former or new, before hearing it at the dépanneur. Their questions are straightforward: Is my job secure? Will my schedule change? Who do I go to now? If the answers are not yet known, say so, and indicate when they will be. Silence is interpreted as bad news.
Staff are also the people who know how the business actually runs: which supplier is always late, which regular prefers the corner table, what the former owner did every Monday that is not written down anywhere. Their support from the first week is essential.
Suppliers
Call them. There will be a new name on the account, a new signature on cheques, and possibly new payment terms. Suppliers are wary of ownership changes because that is when invoices tend to go unpaid. A phone call before the first order changes that conversation entirely.
Regular customers
A major announcement is not necessary. A sign at the counter, a short post, and the new owner behind the counter on a Saturday are sufficient. A message such as "Same place, same team, new owner, and the coffee's still on" works well. Customers care less about who owns the business than about whether it continues to work.
Which online accounts must be transferred on day one?
All of them. This is the step most often forgotten, and the one we emphasize most. When a business is sold, the building and the inventory are transferred on paper. Online assets often are not, because no one considered them property.
They are property. We recommend reviewing this list with the previous owner, ideally before closing:
- Google Business Profile. The listing that appears on Google Maps with the hours and reviews. Have yourself added as an owner, then have the former owner removed. Update the hours, phone number, photos and description the same day.
- Domain name. Verify who it is registered to. It is often the former owner personally, or a web contractor who left years ago. It must be transferred to the business's name, with a login you control.
- Website hosting and the site itself. Obtain administrator access and a full copy of the site.
- Business email. If the business email uses the domain, it moves with the domain. If it is the former owner's personal Gmail, set up a new address and, with their agreement, place an auto-reply on the old one.
- Facebook, Instagram and other social pages. Have yourself added as an administrator, then ask the former owner to step down. Taking over their password is not an appropriate substitute.
- Other listings. Tourism sites, the municipal business directory, the chamber of commerce, review sites, delivery apps. Update every place where the business appears.
- Payment and booking systems. Point of sale, online booking, and any system that takes payments or holds customer information.
Include the transfer of these accounts in the sale agreement, in writing. A former owner who is eager to help today may be in Florida and difficult to reach in February.
Official records must also be updated. In Quebec, this means updating the business's information with the Registraire des entreprises. The federal government's Canada Business resources are a useful starting point for the administrative side of buying a business, and your notary will provide the Quebec specifics.
Customer lists and newsletter subscribers require particular care. They come with privacy obligations, and in Quebec, Law 25 sets strict rules on personal information. Ask your notary or lawyer how the list may be transferred and used before sending the first email to it.
What should change during the first month?
Only what is broken or legally required. New owners usually arrive with a list: a new menu, new colours, new hours, a new website. That ambition is understandable, since the business was bought for its potential.
We nonetheless recommend waiting. During the first month, observe everything else. It is not yet clear which unusual habit of the former owner is the reason half the regulars come in, or which unattractive shelf is where everyone expects to find the batteries. Changing everything in the second week risks removing what keeps the business running, without ever knowing which element it was.
Instead, keep a notebook of every "why is it done this way?" By the fourth week, half of those questions will have answered themselves.
How should the business be made your own during the first 100 days?
Gradually. After a month, the new owner knows the business. Changes can then begin, one or two at a time, while monitoring sales and customer feedback.
We recommend prioritizing the following changes.
First, refresh the online presence properly: new photos, current hours, and a short, candid "about" section explaining who you are and what remains the same. If the business never had a website, this is a good time to create one. A simple landing page with hours, location, phone number and a few photos is often enough to start.
Second, ask for reviews. Regulars who appreciate the change will gladly say so on Google when asked. New reviews under the new owner show that the business is active.
Larger changes, such as the menu, prices and renovations, should follow one at a time, with some interval between them. If three changes are made in the same week and sales decline, it becomes impossible to identify the cause.
Should the previous owner remain involved?
For a while, yes. This step is easy to skip, particularly if the sale was tense.
If possible, ask the former owner to remain reachable during the first few weeks. Better still, ask them to spend a Saturday at the counter with you. Regulars see the handover take place, and you learn the reasons behind the unusual habits recorded in your notebook. Most retiring owners care about the future of their business, and many will agree if asked.
If they decline or are unable to, rely on the staff, who have observed the business longer than you have.
Most successful handovers come down to routine steps: the staff were informed early, the Google listing was transferred, and the new owner resisted the urge to repaint on the first weekend.