Emotions After You Sell

In the world of business ownership, many decisions are made for the success of a venture. The owner must be ready to handle many different stages throughout the life of the firm. Throughout those stages, there are many decisions that the owner must decide upon for the enterprise, such as what is the goal of the company. One initial decision the owner should know is what is the future result for your business. Is the purpose to be short-term with a large payout or long-term success? For many entrepreneurs, the goal is for their victory day to arrive with a large payout for their company where they have put so much time and hard-work.

The process of an acquisition is time-consuming, tedious and tiresome. The owners go through so much with preparing all the business' documentation and making crucial decisions. These are all integral parts of the owner's stages for the acquisition, but have they prepared themselves emotionally for after it is complete? They typically do not prepare themselves for the emotions that come days, weeks or even months after it is all said and done. These feelings could include ones such as sadness or a sense of loss. An entrepreneur and business contributor, Amy Rees Anderson, best describes these feelings in her article Life After Selling A Business as "... that feeling of sending a child off to college for the first time" (paragraph 4). As a Many business owners do not necessarily think about the emotional toll an acquisition takes, and if they are not aware, then they will not be prepared emotionally. Business owners need to be aware and ready for these different emotions in case they occur and also know what to do in this instance.

An owner should have a plan of what their next stage is going to be for themselves and their family. This plan can help with giving themselves an agenda to work on so the owner does not have too much free time wondering and second guessing themselves if they made the right decision or not. A former owner can also prepare for emotions that may arise from the sale by having a support system in place. A support system can be family, friends and even business associates, especially ones who understand what you are feeling. A previous owner must lastly look forward to their future and what do they want to do next. It is a great big world out there, and they should go after whatever is in their heart.

Amy Rees Anderson, Forbes website, retrieved on 1/18/17, http://www.forbes.com/sites/amyanderson/2012/10/16/life-after-selling-a-business/#40d3ddba46d5

Inc. website, retrieved on 1/18/17, http://www.inc.com/mike-handelsman/managing-the-emotions-of-selling-your-small-business.html



By Colleen H Rose


Article Source: Emotions After You Sell