When is letting go of your business a wise decision? Once you have been in your own business it is very hard to let it go. You will hit a time in your business career that you will need to let go of your business for various reasons. Such as you hit the age of retirement and you can no longer handle or manage your business, your business had to close due to something out of your control such as the pandemic, or you made a poor business decision and your business is failing, or you decide to sell the business and liquidate, or merge your business with someone else.

If you have a family business, it may be a little easier because you can pass the reins onto someone else in the family who will most likely let you continue working on a part time basis, or as needed so you are not just put out to pasture so quickly….lol. This is the hope I have with my business. But I chuckle and think to myself, I’m not sure that I will ever retire as I do enjoy working. However, my son thinks I should retire now. 🙂 As a business owner, it is hard to let your business go. You have spent 30 – 40 years in business, it is what you know, you have built it and established a network of clients and contacts and some of them have already retired, and you wonder what you are going to do after you really retire. Letting go is a big decision.

When you are looking at letting go of your business you need to decide how you are going to do it. You need an exit strategy. You need to prepare an exit strategy that will continue to meet the needs of your clients and any personnel that you may have in your business. Whether you are going to close, hand over the reins, sell, or merge your business, there needs to be a professional transition that occurs. You want to leave the business on a professional note in case one of your clients would like to use your services to consult on special projects, or fill in for interim jobs, etc. You do not want to burn any bridges. Everything needs to stay above board and professional.

If you are able to turn over the reins to a family member this transition is the easiest and it is a matter of sending written notice to your clients on who is going to be handling their accounts going forward and assuring them, they will be well taken care of. You may want to stay on and consult for a 60 to 90-day period to consult and make sure the transition runs smoothly. If your client has not met your family member who will be taking over, then it would be wise to schedule a meeting to introduce them so they can meet and get to know each other a little.

If you are selling the business, then you will need to make the appropriate exit strategy to transfer your business and its assets to the new owner and notify all of the appropriate parties. You need to keep in mind that if you do not have current contracts and you work on an as needed basis, there is no guarantee your clients will continue to use the services of the new owner. This would be the same if you were merging with another company as well.

If you are closing your business, then you will want to make sure that you do everything you can to make sure that your client experiences NO lapse in coverage for their services needed. You will need to give your client ample time to find another servicer to meet their needs or you will need to help them find someone who can assist them with their current needs. You will need to make this closing transition as smooth as possible for both you and your clients.

Before making your final decision to let go of your business, I always recommend that you spend time in prayer and make sure you are doing what God would have you to do. I know not everyone has a relationship with God but looking for his confirmation on this big decision will make your decision easier and smoother when you know it is God’s will.

Keep checking back as we will be discussing exit strategies in more detail as this post continues.