It's an apropos time for me to write about the topic of moving on because this summer marks two years since I sold my interest in my last company and moved on to other opportunities. I've also just wrapped up an amazing experience in the leadership coaching program at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, one of the country's most prestigious certifications for professional coaches.
I'm grateful for just about everything right now--the opportunity to exit my business successfully, the richness of my new experiences and the highly rewarding career I now enjoy. Thank goodness I had the guts to do it.
Because I almost didn't.
It's a common joke that every business is--and isn't--for sale. While most entrepreneurs dream of one day exiting their business, it's an incredibly hard thing to do. I've spoken with so many business owners at different stages of their lives, and it's fascinating how similar our stories are.
Our businesses become so much a part of our identity that we don't know who we are without them. So we often cling to them too long, passing up opportunities to grow and evolve. I've heard numerous stories of closely held businesses engaged in the final signing stage of a sale, only to have the owner decide to keep it after all.
Whether selling, retiring or shuttering a business, it's a giant step for a business owner. Facing the unknown is terrifying! We're fearful of losing our identity and afraid of what comes next. We wonder whether we've reached our peak and are fearful that we might fail at our next venture. Even Ted Leonsis, former AOL entrepreneur and multimillionaire, discussed during a recent speech his fear of being insignificant after he exited the company. (He went on to buy the Washington Capitals hockey team, among other things.) No matter how successful we are, fear can be a powerful motivator for many things, including inertia.
Are you considering a change or in the final stages of exiting your company? If so, I'll bet you have mixed emotions about it. When I was in the negotiations process, my feelings ranged from the giddy elation of selling to the downright certainty that I was doing the wrong thing--sometimes all in the course of a single morning. Fortunately, I followed my gut, and I'm here to tell you there's definitely life on the other side.
That's because being an entrepreneur is the best training possible for re-creating yourself. You already know how to start an entire business with just an idea. You know how to be flexible and intuitive, how to lead others and how to rely on yourself. If you've done it once, you can do it again--whether that means starting another business, becoming a philanthropist or going into semi-retirement as a faculty member at the University of Hawaii.
The chance to do something new is a gift, one that shouldn't be squandered or taken lightly. Before you throw yourself into your next phase, spend some time reflecting to figure out exactly what that next phase should be. Here's how to start thinking about it:
Identify when fear is a motivator, and learn to live with it. Even when there's a multimillion-dollar payout, entrepreneurs can still fear change. One of my friends was offered a hefty sum for his business, then decided it wasn't enough. (He also admitted he didn't know what he would do next.) Know the fear is going to be there; when it rears its ugly head, acknowledge it and move on.
Pay attention to your energy levels around work. Entrepreneurial energy is the gas our businesses run on. When you start to lose it, the business and your inspiration both suffer. If you're contemplating a change, decide whether your business drains you or fortifies you. Often our bodies tell us where we should be before our minds catch up.
Focus on what you can gain rather than what you'll lose. Maybe it's our glass-half-empty culture, but the first thing most of us analyze is what we'll give up if we exit our businesses. It's different for everyone--security, stature, money, etc. When you find yourself stewing about what you'd leave behind, it's time to start thinking about what you'll gain as well--opportunities, intellectual stimulation, time, growth, etc. That's what you're heading to, and that's what you should be focused on.
Become a professional arbiter of your own ideas. When you finally decide to leave your business, you can feel again the euphoria of playing on a field where anything is possible. A business coach of mine once gave me sage advice about new ideas: My coach suggested I collect all my ideas in one place and then spend several months testing them.
Make it your job to examine them, but don't get wedded to the first ones you come up with. At one point, I was working on 13 different business ideas. Some dropped off quickly; others played out until the very end.
Beware of the comfort of "the known." I used to wonder why so many business owners I knew would sell their companies, wait out their non-compete agreements, and then start the same business all over again. It puzzled me, since most had gotten bored with those businesses the first time around.
I've come to the conclusion that the power of the known, or the path of least resistance, is incredibly compelling. It's hard to take a different path when the old one is so familiar. This time around, I took a huge gamble going in a new direction with my company. Fortunately, it's not only been successful and interesting, it also gives me professional joy.
However, I came very close to re-creating a similar construct to my last business. Only because my business coach forced me to pick up my head and look around did I realize that I could build a business a different way. Finding someone who can help you get that perspective is critical.
Our businesses can be all-consuming. Some of us will love running them forever, and others will reach a point where our joy can be found elsewhere. If you're considering transitioning out of your business and re-creating yourself for your next phase, realize it's a journey.
And don't be afraid to find some new scenery.