Digital Legacies for Business Owners

The concept of a digital legacy is a relatively new one, but as a business owner it is still something that is often neglected. This article is mostly to focus on digital legacies for business owners specifically. If you would like to read more about digital legacies in general, please visit the Digital Legacy Association’s website.

What is a Digital Legacy?

Your digital legacy is the collection of digital information about you after your death. This can be made up of social media accounts, websites and blogs, chatrooms, online conversations and gaming profiles. The term has also been extended to include ‘Digital Assets’ – digital possessions that have been purchased, stored or created. eBooks, music, photos, videos, blogs and sites.

What do you need to consider for your small business?

If you own and run your business on your own – your business’ digital legacy is something that should be considered well ahead of time in addition to your own personal Digital Legacy. Some key things to consider:

• Who will take over your business? Is there someone to take it over? Will it work without you or will it need to be closed down?
• What will happen to your customers if they have paid for work that hasn’t been completed?
• Who has access to your password keeper? (Do you even have one or is it all written in a little black book?) Is there someone who can access everything if needed? Do they have the password to your computer, your phone, your emails, bank accounts, online accounts?
• Have you created your digital legacy contact on social media platforms (most now have this feature available)
• Do you have an insurance policy in the event of your death in your business to help wrap it up?
• If you are a limited company, owning shares in your business, who is in line to inherit those shares? Will they be able to run the business? If they are children, will the people who you’ve nominated as their guardians be suitable to run your business?
• Have you made a list of your digital assets? What will happen to them?
• And finally – who is responsible for dealing with this? Have you communicated your wishes with them?

This post is to help business owners be prepared for the future. Being prepared can also work well as part of general succession planning for your business. We have written a Basic Guide to Succession Planning which you can read here. A great starting point for getting your Digital Legacy prepared is to visit the Digital Legacy Association website where they have a free Social Media Will template that you can use, along with other free resources and important links.