The Disorientation Of Selling Your Business

There is a world of difference between being a successful employee of a large corporation and the successful owner of a business that was started from scratch. If you are one of the latter, you know just how much work you had to put into it, with all those sleepless nights, the long days of work trying to get those first clients interested in your products or services and the uncertainty of the first years of business. These are things that all entrepreneurs remember as they gain more success. Inevitably, there comes a time when they need to find someone who will take over the business. In many cases, their children aren’t interested in the company or aren’t capable of running the business, so their only option is to sell their business. Some of them decide to maintain an ownership or leadership role — remaining as Chair of the board, or Chief Operations Officer, but at some point, they recognize that the key to financing the rest of their lives lies in selling the business and collecting enough profit to live the rest of their lives without worry.

This whole decision making process can be a very disorienting experience for owners because their business basically became part of their essence, their identity. At some point it ceased just being a way to make a living. Everything that they have achieved, the things they own and the experiences they’ve had are all linked to this company they built from the ground up. When they decide to sell it, it is like going through a grieving process that is similar to the loss of a loved one. The only difference is that they are relieved of all the hard work and the feeling of always having some responsibility.

What Else Would I Do?

This is a common refrain going on inside the heads of a great many business owners? What else would I do if I didn’t have this business to go to every day? If I didn’t have the responsibility of running the place? If I no longer had a role here that added value? What else would I do? The reality is that many owners are facing this very real issue. They are not comfortable selling or transitioning the business because they don’t have an emotionally compelling what’s next. They still derive income from the business, and that is attractive to many, but they also just don’t have an exciting plan. Habit s and patterns, built over time, are hard to change, and going into the office several days a week is a habit that is hard to change. Even owners who want to change that habit struggle to do it. So what is an owner to do?

How do you develop an emotionally compelling what’s next?

Start with getting in touch with things that you are passionate about. Don’t know what you’re passionate about? Well, think back to the kinds of things you enjoyed most as a child, young adult, even as recently as a few years ago, but never had time to really pursue. There are clues in our past that can begin to inform our future. Maybe you loved to play sports or build model cars. That doesn’t mean that you want to do that now, but it’s a clue that can be used to put some framework around what you might be passionate about today. Allow yourself to explore.

Then look at your strengths. The things your employees, friends, business associates, church members tell you consistently that you are good at. You may dismiss their comments because they come so naturally to you, but start paying attention. What are you really good at? Maybe you are a visionary thinker or maybe very analytical, a numbers guy. That doesn’t mean you want to sign up to be treasurer of your Rotary club, but it’s another clue. Watch what others respond to in you.

Now look at what kind of a lifestyle you want at this point in your life? Simple things like how early in the morning would you choose to get up – if you didn’t have to be at work by 8am? How often do you want to travel and where do you want to go? Who do you spend your time with and what are you doing when you are together? Start to paint a picture of the lifestyle that speaks to you, outside of the office.

The sweet spot across these three holds the biggest clues to what will be an emotionally compelling what’s next, and when you get clear on that, it will be hard to hold you back!