Selling your business is fraught with more emotion than you could ever imagine. With so much sentiment tied up in the enterprise you built, post-exit life can be tough. Once you’ve completed the deal to sell your company, you might go on a big blowout holiday to celebrate. Life is good! But when you return, life will look very different. Something pretty significant will be missing from your life. How do you fill that void?
If you were employed by a big corporate business, chances are your employer would offer you some sort of planning and preparation for what’s next. Seminars and workshops on what to expect after retirement or redundancy are common. When you are both leader and managing director of your own business, the landscape looks very different.
This blog is intended to bridge that gap.
Inspired by this inspiring episode of Built-to-Sell radio, we explain the four inevitable stages of post-exit life SME owners experience. We share the emotional challenges to expect, and some options available to business owners if you still crave challenge after exit.
Four stages of post-exit life
For the majority of business owners, life after the deal is a genuine rollercoaster. How post-exit life affects you very much depends on how long you owned the business, your level of involvement with day-to-day operations, and your emotional attachment to your company and its employees. The stronger your attachment, the harder you will feel the loss.
Every individual’s journey will be different. Some people will embrace a more relaxed lifestyle, others need to fill the void by taking up new hobbies, spending time with family and friends, and travelling the world. Most business owners will transition through four stages of post-exit life.
Stage 1: The honeymoon period
The deal is signed, and you feel a sense of achievement and relief having cut ties with your former business. Life is exciting, fun, much calmer and less stressful than before. You have a nice lump sum in the bank and take comfort from your financial security. You might take a well-deserved holiday with your loved ones and revel in your newfound sense of freedom – with no final day blues worrying about going back to work! You feel happy and content that you have achieved your goal.
Stage 2: Loss
Stepping away from the business you built is akin to a bereavement. There is something huge missing from your life. Directors’ working lives tend to revolve around planning, monthly and annual targets, board meetings and financial deadlines. You might miss the routine and structure, or the thrill of the win, and feel unmotivated without that focus. Then there’s the loss of an identity that was so closely linked to your business. It’s natural to miss the daily socialising with colleagues and the friendships you built over the years.
Stage 3: Experimentation:
Once the celebrations are over, and you’ve worked through any feelings of loss, you will emerge ready to try new things. This is the time to discover new hobbies and interests you’ve always wanted to try. You won’t enjoy everything, but each new activity you try will test your skills, occupy your ample free time, focus your mind, and perhaps bring you the fulfilment you’re looking for.
Stage 4: Re-invention
What’s the next mountain you want to climb? The hobbies and interests you discovered during experimentation may provide your new purpose and identity. If it’s routine and social contact you crave, joining groups and clubs can replace this. But, if you feel you have more to achieve in business, there are several options to explore.
What are an entrepreneur’s options after business exit?
Having led a structured, always-on career, it’s natural for high-achieving entrepreneurs to miss the buzz of business life. If you still have plenty to offer the business world, here are some options to consider.
- Get involved in charitable causes in the form of voluntary work, consultancy or as a trustee.
- Invest in venture capital funding via business angels or dragon’s den style initiatives. This is a rewarding way to support innovative businesses to grow in return for long-term financial reward.
- Become a consultant by sharing your valuable skills, knowledge and experience with businesses. This could provide structure and reward on your terms without the full-time commitment of a 9-5 role.
- Support a start-up by using your entrepreneurial flair to mentor a fledgling business.
- Start a new business – full of ideas and a burning desire to build something bigger and better than before? Starting over could generate the fulfilment you crave.
Preparing for post-exit life
Your post-exit lifestyle will depend on the valuation you achieve for your business. Building value in your business is the best place to start to ensure you achieve your post-exit dreams. As business exit consultants, we can help you to build business value and offer advice on planning and preparing yourself for life after exit. Call us on 01606 535020 or book a discovery call and ask how a Value Builder™ Assessment can support your business exit preparations.
Life after a business exit can be tough. It’s important to retain perspective and not get carried away by the large lump sum sitting in your bank account. Take advantage of your new lifestyle. Spend time with the people you love, doing the things you love. Have fun, try new things and, above all, take your time before jumping into any new ventures. Use the four stages of post-exit life to guide your journey and try not to force your way through those natural feelings of loss and bereavement. Good luck!
You may also find this blog useful: Recommended reading when planning your business exit.
