By SJS Investment Services Founder & CEO Scott Savage.
In our work with business owners, we ask them, “What does your life look like after you sell your business?” Many times, we get a blank look.
That blank look is understandable. These very busy business owners have their focus in the here and now - on the needs of their families, employees, and customers. They have little time left over to think about tomorrow, and they may even be avoiding it. Change is unnerving, the future is unknown, and it’s more comforting to focus on what seems certain and controllable.
But that future will come, planned or not, and you can help yourself with the change by envisioning your business succession process. By spelling out what you want your future to look like, you can help counter the loss of identity you might feel when you wake up one morning and realize that you don’t have a company to wake up for.
We urge anyone who is planning to exit their business, or who has already exited, to read The Second Mountain by New York Times best-selling author David Brooks. He writes of two metaphorical mountains. The first encompasses what many business owners have pursued, as these are the goals that our culture tells us to focus on - social status, happiness, a nice home, a loving family, great vacations, good food, wonderful friends, and on and on.[1]
But some people get to the top, sell their business, and find it unsatisfying. “Is this it?” they ask themselves. They sense that there must be a more meaningful journey they can take. As Robert Powell once wrote, “Without purpose, many retirees begin to decline. When we ask a pre-retiree what they’ll do when they retire, and they respond with ‘golf,’ it’s a good indicator that they are not prepared.”[2]
The second mountain is where people realize their ego can never be satisfied. They find out they don’t want to be a full-time consumer - they want to be consumed by a moral cause. They realize independence is lonely, and they long for connection, relationships, intimacy, responsibility, and commitment. They seek long-lasting joy rather than temporary happiness.
In our experience, the second-mountain perspective is a helpful way to think about your life when you are still on top of the first mountain!
To help business owners work through their emotions as well as make better decisions when considering selling their businesses, we wrote an ebook entitled Your Business Exit: Monetizing Your Life’s Work. We explore how your situation can come together - the dollars and the cents, as well as the behavioral - so that you can create a successful business exit.
If you have any questions or want to talk through your potential business exit, please feel free to reach out to us. We have helped many business owners successfully handle the financials as well as the emotions of exiting their businesses, and we would be happy to help you as well.
Important Disclosure Information & Sources:
[1] The Second Mountain. David Brooks, 2019, Random House.
[2] “Why you need to have purpose in your daily life even when you retire“. Robert Powell, 26-Dec-2018, USA Today.
Advisory services are provided by SJS Investment Services, a registered investment advisor (RIA) with the SEC. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. SJS Investment Services does not provide legal or tax advice. Please consult your legal or tax professionals for specific advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only.
Hyperlinks to third-party information are provided as a convenience and we disclaim any responsibility for information, services or products found on websites or other information linked hereto.
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