ONWARD

As private wealth advisors, we have a great deal of experience supporting successful middle market entrepreneurs. Our aim when working with entrepreneurs is to help better position them, their family and their company so they can successfully navigate the process of a transaction if, and when the time is right.

Far too often, however, we have found that even under the most successful of circumstances — where our clients got everything they wanted out of a deal, and then some! — there was still a level of dissatisfaction.

This isn’t just our experience — the data backs this up. According to the Exit Planning Institute’s Readiness Survey, 75% of business owners “profoundly regretted” selling their business 12 months after finalizing the deal. Certainly, much of that regret can come from a poor deal — if not the valuation of the deal, but the impact of the deal on their employees, the trajectory of the company and other factors.

But we have also found that even in the best of circumstances, few entrepreneurs are adequately prepared for the mental and emotional changes and challenges of life that post-sale will present to them. They haven’t thought through “what’s next?”

As you consider a move into the next phase of your entrepreneurial career — switching tracks and heading on a new path — it’s important to keep in mind that the same key factors that made you a successful entrepreneur apply to how you approach your post-sale life. Preparation and planning.

Entrepreneurs need to begin this crucial step BEFORE they sell their company, if possible. Reason being is that not only does planning for this transition lessen the emotional burdens placed upon your shoulders during the transition, but it could also impact how you evaluate aspects of potential deals. It’s important to have an idea of what you want to do next so that you don’t end up becoming boxed out of pursuing those plans by the terms of the current deal.