I met with a business coach today and we were discussing the exiting process of a business and the emotional struggle that owners experience.  We talked a lot about the steps to sell your business and where a business coach would be helpful.  Personally, I am a strong supporter of having a business coach and have used one for many years, as I struggled with my balance between business and personal goals.  Like many of my fellow entrepreneurs, my business and personal lives were often intertwined and that caused conflict in both worlds.  There were, actually there still are, many times in my life that the right business decision was not the right personal decision.  Since all final business decisions came down to me, as the owner the Company, I had no one to bounce my internal dilema off with.  My coach was very good… at challenging me on right/wrong, need/want, structure/flexibility, work/family, lie/total truth, etc.  You see where I’m going here, he coached me within a structured process and helped me run my Company instead of it running me.

So I thought it would be helpful to get his opinion on assisting people in the selling of one’s business from a coaches perspective.  We talked about many different feelings that owners experience and, like so many conversations we have had in the past, we got into the real issue.  The fundemental question that any business owner needs to reflect on is what do they want to do after they sell?  Most business owners say they want to retire, but actually they just want to do move onto something else.  I try to advise them that the term “retirement” and sitting on your swing porch every day with a glass of lemonade reading a book will last a while, but not long.  It’s not because the seller needs to work, they could be completely financially secure, but it is just who we are.

Entreprenuers are a breed or class by themselves.  This is not to be an insult because I am one myself, just accept who you really are.  They are self motivated, over achieving,indepedent thinkers who NEED both mental and physical stimulation.  The concept of retirement is nice and definately works for some sellers, but the mass majority of them get involved in something after they sell their business.  So as we talked, retirement is the current politically correct (PC) term, but in reality, most people transition into the next phase of their lives.

A coach, and they can be perosonal, life or business coaches, are trained to help people in this transition.  The market has exploded exponentially over the last 10 years and if you Google ”business coach” you will find thousands of those professionals.  My suggestion is that this transition is both a business and personal process.  A coach will help you through the process and into finding your next adventure.  I would recommend finding your own coach whether you are transitioning now or are looking into the future.  They are a great additional advisor on your team.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 11th, 2009 at 5:47 pm and is filed under Sell Your Business, Professional Advice, Exit and Answers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.