The first part of the problem is that for a lot of business owners, their identity is so wrapped up in the business that it’s very hard to let go.
So we don’t. Like the owner, who grew up in a family business that distributed automotive parts. This man didn’t know anything else. He committed all the sins: he was too involved in the business; everything revolved around him. He had a job. He couldn’t take vacations, but because the business was successful enough reve- nue-wise, he thought he was ready.
He was seventy-four when he began discussing selling his busi- ness with a professional. That professional found a buyer who was willing to take the company, warts and all, for $14.5 million.
The business owner said, “No, I want $15 million.” The buyers were still willing to part with the extra five hundred thousand.
When the business owner countered that second offer with, “No, the price is now $15.5 million,” that buyer knew he needed to withdraw his offer. He was certain that the owner wasn’t serious about selling.
The reality was that this business owner lacked a clear sense of what he wanted to do when his business sold. Because he didn’t have a clear vision, he lost the buyer.
There are so many owners who won’t let go of the identity of being a business owner. I would wager that when business owners suffer from this, they are part of the eighty percent that don’t sell.
There is one last part to this that we have to acknowledge. You love your husband, your wife, and your grandkids. But do you want to spend twenty-four hours a day with them? Your business gave you a separate identity. But what happens when you don’t own or lead your business anymore? What’s next?
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