[SonjaHelga]

Hi,
My name is Ruth, and I have just started to seriously market on the internet.

Now I have one major concern. My husband is suffering from MS, so he is not really able to take over if something happens to me. And, I do not know anyone in my "warm" market who knows computers, internet and marketing to the extend that I have taught myself.

What kind of provisions have those of you made who are successful, in case something happens to disable you? After all, this is not a kind of "take over business" we are in.

Any ideas will help me achieve some peace of mind here,

Thanks,
Ruth

[my2cents]

I too have HAD THESE SAME THOUGHTS... my wife has no interest in my online business other then the checks that appear in my mail box every month... she still thinks I am wasting my time "playing on my computer"

for me I guess my business will die a slow death... as my domains expire... and the income dwindles...

or someone in my family decides they should sell my network for what ever theycan get...

I guess the sum of my efferts remains to be determined!

Joe

[Rhea]

Hubby knows that my first site, one of my content sites, is to be maintained after my death if I predecease him. He does know some HTML so if he wants to continue to do marketing from it he has that option. Since it isn't possible to pay for registration in perpetuity, I guess the site will only survive for nine years after the last of us dies, unless I establish a trust to maintain the site. I'm not that vain, however. I would be more inclined to sign the rights to the material over to someone who I think would maintain the site in a manner consistent with the way I maintained it.

All the critical information about my sites and business affiliations are kept in several Excel spreadsheets. Hubby knows where to find them.

[loxly]

My daughter would gladly take over the reigns to my online business :) Otherwise, I guess I would create a list of people that I would want my sites dispersed to.

[Paul_Ward]

Step 1 - get proper life insurance, term assurance is cheap for most people.

Step 2 - get a pension plan and pay sensible amounts into it.

If you don't die, you'll retire, if you don't retire it's because you're dead.

I've thought about this too and the way I see it, I'd need to be pretty badly ill or disabled not to be sitting here and working on my site, so it's no so critical as if I was a builder or even if a did this job but in an office somewhere.

As for my sites? No-one I know in close or even distant family could take them over. Maybe I'd better make some instructions as to how to sell them? In this respect it's like many other sole-trader offline businesses.

[leeann]

It would be a good idea to make arrangements with a trusted internet person to assist or make a video on exactly what to do.

[SonjaHelga]

It would be a good idea to make arrangements with a trusted internet person to assist or make a video on exactly what to do.

This sounds good. I was thinking this. But how do you find a trusted business partner :)... Do you think it would be wise to try to work in a partnership? A joint venture type partnership?

Someone who knows exactly what it is we do, love it as much as we do, and work it as much as we do?

How do I find someone like that?

There is so much involved once the money comes in. Do most very successful business marketers have joint partners? Or at that point just have the staff who would know what to do?

I mean look at Corey Rudl, right. At least he had the resources to have a team in place.

Ruth

[White Wolf]

I used to work for a financial planner years ago. One thing he would suggest to a small business owner is to insure they business for what it was worth (or whatever you wanted your family to have). Then find someone who would buy the business upon his death (someone capable of running the business). There was a standard, boilerplate agreement they used that was simply a contract for the business to be purchased from the family with the insurance proceeds.

Everyone benefited - the family, the business owner (in peace of mind) and the purchaser (bigger business).

Don't see why this would work for internet business, too.

Peace and Blessings,
White Wolf

[Gr_Sacc]

Thanks for bringing this topic to the forum. My husband is learning the business so that I have backup and so that he would know what to do in case something happens to me.

[SonjaHelga]

The insurance and pre-finding a buyer sounds good. It is not always possible to get family involved.

Thank you all for your contributions,

Ruth,